Alpha squad
by Sonnyjimmy
Summary: Alpha squad are holding the line at Nott amp station, Esamir, when suddenly they find themselves spawns down, abandoned, and alone behind enemy lines. Follow their story as they try to find their way home in this 12-part series.
1. Chapter 1 - Last Stand

Dazed, Marius staggered into the generator room wall, barely holding up his MAX suit with his shaking arm. Alarms bleeped at him from all directions and warm hydraulic fluid spilled down the outside of his leg, staining the snow beneath his feet. His chest still heaved from the punches of the shotgun pellets, but luckily the last shot had only smashed his visor and no more; his body was just bruised and stinging under four inches of solid steel.

Field engineer Utako Nakano was there in seconds. A small, agile figure dodging in between the barriers and shrapnel, she tapped Marius' helmet as she surveyed him with keen, professional eyes.

"Maz... You hear me?"

Marius could only nod, breathless and blind from the blood covering his face.

"Hold still, this'll hurt..."

A burst of intense heat enveloped Marius from head to toe – a rush of energy that tore the air from his lungs like a popped balloon. His armour glowed and simmered red like molten lava as the cracks and fissures of the gunfire were fused together by the nano bots. Suddenly, the repair kit buzzed angrily.

"Sorry Maz, I'm all out. You'll have to get a new helmet from stores."

Marius gulped, and sighed in a weak voice "No worries buddy. Thanks for the top up."

Wordlessly, Nakano scurried back to the front. His eyes tracked the small, graceful form as she bounded off to help the other wounded.

For the first time in days, Marius felt the freezing Esamiran air biting his face through the smashed helmet. The dawning sun shimmered over the aching walls of Nott AMP station, thick stalactites of ice gleamed on the sagging roofs. Two hundred metres in front of him, across the rows of broken merlons and a number of other make-shift barriers, stood the bowing and flickering blue glow of the base shield. Waves of bulbous energy danced across its surface as the Republican armour pounded it relentlessly yet ineffectively; with the generator still up, it was a futile action. Eight exhausted and battered New Conglomerate soldiers remained in Marius' squad, clinging desperately to the North generator that decided the fate of the entire Autumn Conglomerate offensive on the continent.

Marius picked himself up off the wall and started to shuffle slowly back to the main facility. Enormous glowing pipes soared one hundred metres into the sky, humming intermittently with the rapidly-draining nanite flow remaining in the base. In the centre, a bulbous structure towered over the outer walls, bent and smoky black from years of siege and counter-siege.

As the embers of battle faded, his mind wandered. Where the hell were the reinforcements? They had been 'imminent' for four days now. The base med bays were already full, there was a two-hour waiting time for fallen soldiers to use the spawn tubes, the base was cut off from any supply lines and the few remaining vehicles were barely serviceable. Marius himself was down to just five clips in each MAX scatter cannon arm. It was a mess.

A world apart from 'Commander' Doran and his elite guard, of course. An NC commander and board member of Esamir Mineral Corp., he kept his horde of Conglomerate lawyers, investors and other crony friends coddled in luxurious apartments within the most secure depths of the station. Beyond the lines of elite bodyguard mercenaries that not even the most decorated New Conglomerate grunt had the authority to access. Rebellion paymasters like Doran and his clique lived a life completely aloof from the blood and dirt. Their desperately-needed vehicles and weapons gathered dust in the vehicle bay while real soldiers like Marius slogged on – camped out for days, months, years in the chills, on the front line, fighting, hurting, dying and dying again...

A shout shook him from his daydreaming. "ACRE, COMMS!"

Marius twisted his cumbersome battle suit as quickly as it would let him. Lieutenant Landiss, in his striking blue beret, motioned theatrically to his ears. Marius, confused, shrugged and shook his head. Landiss bounded over, evidently frustrated.

"Sir?" the young MAX operator bumbled.

"Acre, why are you ignoring direct orders?" Came the strong, deep voice that radiated authority and demanded compliance.

The chiselled face carried an uncharacteristic grimace, highlighting the long scars running from mouth to ear under his thick stubble. Even nanites can't repair the wounds you get before you join the Corps. Marius' voice shook with embarrassment and reverence as he spoke.

"Sorry sir. My visor and comms are down; I'm heading to stores to pick up another."

Landiss glanced briefly at his helmet with bright green eyes, then his face relaxed into his more typical reassuring smile. He placed his hand on the young troopers.

"OK, understood. You took a lucky hit there, son. But can you hold out here for ten more minutes? Michaels just got rushed to med bay... I think he lost an arm. You're the only MAX unit we have left in the platoon for now, at least until they get the Nanite bed on the go. Delta squad just called in that those redneck Republicos are massing infantry at the North gate again. We'll need your shotties, just in case. Can you hold on for me just a little longer?"

Marius' heart sank at the receding dream of a hot meal from the mess hall on his way to stores. Not showing any sign of disappointment, he nodded dutifully.

"That's right," Landiss nodded, satisfied "you're doing a great job, Acre. You saved lives back there, I saw it. Keep your head up, word on the grapevine is that we're hauling out this evening."

Marius' young heart swelled with pride at hearing his approval. Landiss winked joyfully as he turned back to check on the rest of the squad. The legends about Landiss ran thick in the squad. Some say he'd been in the struggle since it began; that he had killed and died more times than Marius had spent days on the front line; that the only reason he wasn't already Commander was that he was strongtoo/strong popular with the grunts for the Suits' liking. Whatever the truth, Lieutenant Landiss was a true legend on Esamir, and the Alpha squad would follow him to the centre of the Terran warpgate and back if he'd ask them to.

Suddenly, a faint sound interrupted his thoughts. High-pitched squeals echoed in the sky some kilometres away. Only one aircraft made such a sound. Terran Mosquito fighters.

"Sir!" he said "do you hear that?"

Landiss looked at him, greying eyebrow raised.

"My ears aren't what they used to be Acre, what is it?"

Marius strained his ears through the chilling gusts of wind.

"Sounds like Skeeters to me sir."

Landiss quickly cast his eyes up into the sky, peering into the drifting clouds. The squad knew something was up – the shouting picked up intensity and the clicks of armed weapons once more behind the barricades.

The Lieutenant shook his head and he buzzed the command channel.

"Hive this is Alpha, any crows in field? Over"

"Negative Alpha," came the response from Comms, somewhere deep within the base "field clear. Orders are hold your ground. Over."

"Roger. Over and out." Landiss replied.

The roar of distant engines broke through a gap in the clouds; screams of fighter engines tore through the sound barrier. Looking up to the bright sky, Marius made out several inky dots on the horizon.

"Well, shit," Landiss said "so much for radar... This could be their push Acre. Where's my cigar?"

He pulled out a seemingly-ancient Havanan "Could you light that for me?"

Dutifully following his CO's tradition - a cigar whenever the fighting got serious - Marius fired up his in-suit welding flame, almost singing Landiss' eyebrows. Seemingly unperturbed by the heat, the Lieutenant buzzed Comms a second time mid-flame.

"Hive this is Alpha, crows in flight – I make out five, no six... "

Static...

"Repeat. Hive this is..."

"...Good luck Landiss..." A monotone voice crackled through the static.

An overwhelming grinding sound erupted from the interior of the base and the roar of engines enveloped the squad. A column of shining armoured vehicles burst out of the vehicle bay, streaming past Alpha squad at top speed. New Conglomerate insignia gleamed proudly on a trio of spotless Vanguard heavy tanks, followed closely by four Sunderer armoured personnel carriers, covered in row upon row of bulging ammunition pouches. The convoy showered the stupefied group with loose mud and gravel, headed directly for the North gate. Straight for the Terran front line.

Suddenly, a shriek of afterburners nearly bowled Marius full over and the centre of the base was blinded in burning white flame. Lumbering shadows of enormous troop transports rose from the landing pads that ringed the interior of the base. Six Reaver gunships catapulted out above them, taking up V formation majestically ahead of the unsteady behemoths. Tightly in the middle, a shining blue and gold Valkryie light gunship rose, which Marius knew could only belong to Commander Doran himself.

As a unit, the fleet hovered metres above ground for a few seconds, then burned towards the North gate, fraying the soldiers below in the intense heat of their booster engines.

Others in the platoon began to cheer and whoop, as if they were saved. But Marius just stared in disbelief. Did that convoy have any idea what was over the wall? This was suicide. The Terran tanks just beyond the shield turned their turrets towards the oncoming vehicles, firing their engines into life, licking their lips at the prospect of long-sought destruction. The Conglomerate force slowed and tentatively, edged nervously through the bubble and...

Nothing.

The Conglomerate Reavers, inched into the grey skies and casually drifted into the distance, Galaxy troop transports vacillating behind them. In a matter of seconds, they were shrinking specks on the horizon.

No shells fired, no explosions, no carnage. As the last NC Lightning tank pierced the blue glow, Marius felt a wave of nausea. Something was very, very wrong.

"What. The..." mouthed Landiss in disbelief, then his face snapped in sudden, horrified recognition "They've left us... They've... They've come for me..."

Marius head span as he struggled desperately to understand. This made no sense! No... Wait... The Suits must have cut a deal with the Republican bastards. Marius pictured the macabre meeting. A field tent just metres from where Marius bled... "The base and those ''irritating' revolutionaries for your lives. No need to get your clothes dirty in some petty base battle ... It's not like you want the War to end, is it? War is good for business, right? In the end, it will be us, you and me, versus them..." Maybe Sergeant Vickers was right about the suits after all...

Lieutenant Landiss, shaking a little, somehow maintained his cool, tried to buzz command once more.

"Hive, this is Alpha, do you read? What's going on?... I repeat, Hive, this is Alpha..."

He received only static. Landiss mashed his cigar absent-mindedly. The rapidly-growing Terran aircraft were surely just minutes away. He switched to squad chat.

"Alpha, expect Galaxy assault and air bombardment. Hold the generator at all costs."

Two rocket-equipped heavy troopers jogged over to the pair. The first, wearing white forest camo armour had blonde hair billowing behind her slim back. She removed her helmet and Marius was greeted with a familiar, heavenly vision: Corporal Isla Aldon. Her flowing blonde hair bathed a delicate, pale, small-featured face. Her white-blue eyes pierced through him, and for a second, he forgot where he was. She gleamed at Landiss as she approached.

"Stu – I mean Sir – do you have any idea what just happened?" she said, blushing.

"No, Sergeant, I can't reach base on comms."

"That was the Mercenary Corps?" interjected a third, gruff, angry voice. Sergeant Vickers didn't bother with pleasantries, not even with his CO.

"Yes Vickers," the Lieutenant ignoring this disrespectful tone "that looked like all of them."

"They cut the spawns, didn't they?" he growled "I mean, let''s not cut crap here – "

Marius' heart jumped, no spawns?! His stomach opened up in terror... There was a risk of death, real death! He had only experienced this twice in his term of service, both times where there were temporary interruptions of communication with the nanite mainframe - wherever that was - and both times his squad had retreated to the nearest friendly location to wait it out. But now, alone, and surrounded by enemies... He tried to gulp, but the lump in his throat wouldn't let him.

Vickers' un-answered question hung heavy in the air. Isla held her slender hands to her face, as if agonising in thought. Finally, Landiss broke the silence.

"We should assume so," He sighed, "but even if that's true, we can't do anything about that now. We have to get everyone inside the base, now. We can't hold the yard with thirty. Aldon, get the message to Delta squad, I''ll call in Beta and Charlie."

He'd barely finished when cries of alarm burst from the squad.

"INCOMING!"

Marius swooped around 90 degrees to face the dying base shield, its keen glow now only a fading spectre atop the hulls of the approaching armour. Two pitch-black Prowler battle tanks had already passed over the threshold of the outer wall and turned their turrets to bear on Alpha's barricade, exposed dead in the middle of the courtyard.

"TAKE COVER!" screamed Landiss, as the first shells from the armoured column whistled through the air to slam into the side of the generator building, exploding into a dense haze of smoke and powder. A second came apart in front of the temporary steel barrier just metres from where Marius stood, blowing two unprepared soldiers flat onto their backs and showering the squad in glowing shrapnel.

"AV UP FRONT!"

Before Landiss had even finished his command, two rockets streaked past Marius, one collapsing into the side of the first battle tank, tearing a hole through the side of the main turret. A bright flash burst from under the second, white heat erupting from the ground. Shattered iron plates spewed from the centre of its broad hull as it crunched gently into the back of the first immobile Prowler. Thank God for minefields, thought Marius.

A ragged cheer rose from the line, quickly extinguished by a thick burst of rifle fire that pinged off the front of the crenellated barricade. The Terran infantry were coming.

"SQUAD! WE ARE PULLING BACK. FALL BACK!" Landiss cried over the tumult.

Marius took up position at the rear of the squad as they filtered back to base, carefully stepping backwards with his stronger front towards the exposed gate so his heavy MAX suit could take the brunt of the bullets. Several more Terran tanks, cautious now, edged gingerly past the flaming wreckage in front of the shield, accompanied by streams of infantry that used the thick smoke as cover. Soon enough, bullets started clanging off the buildings sprawled around Alpha squad's retreat.

Switching to long-range slugs, Marius let off a few speculative shots off at the distant muzzle flashes, forcing the distant aggressors behind cover for a couple of precious seconds. Just enough time for Marius to reload. Taking his time to aim and cover, he soon realised that he was more than ten metres behind his retreating squad, exposed in the middle of the yard. But he didn't have time to panic.

"ACRE! HOT DROP ON YOUR SIX!"

He turned up just in time to see the shadow of the dropship above. Dark figures crash into the snow around all him. His finely-honed reactions seem to slow down time. Marius lets off the first shot before even checking their uniforms, blasting straight through an engineer's backpack. The second and third shots break the front leg and smashed the Medic's helmet. The rest of the clip cripples the barricade that a third young soldier clings to helplessly, now weaponless and bleeding in the reddening snow.

Desperately, Marius reloaded, just as bullets started to thud into his suit from the all sides. Protocol forgotten, he covered his bare face and ran at full pace towards the base. A shot almost tore straight through his back armour. Winded, he lost his footing and clattered into a pair of overturned barrels.

"ACRE!"

Staccato bursts clacked rhythmically from in front of him and a grenade exploded, showering him with rocks and dirt. Suddenly, two arms grabbed him at both shoulders; allowing him to recover control over his legs once again. Powering to full height, he found himself looking at the wide-eyed faces of Landiss and Nakano.

"Three grunts behind wall on right." Landiss cried, his voice intense but calm.

Marius nodded breathlessly and twisted 180° to face the battle, more confident now covered by his two squad mates. He pounded shot after shot at the generator room complex, keeping heads down, guided backwards by Landiss' steady hand on his shoulder. The bullets clattered around him and all he could do was grit his teeth and trust his composite exo-skeleton to hold together as he limped the last few metres of exposed ground. Behind him, the shouts of his squad became clearer, calling out targets, laying down covering fire. Finally, with a sea of red armour and infantry piling into the courtyard just 200m in front of him, Marius was behind the reassuring blue glow of the inner base shields.

Exhausted by exertion and adrenaline, Marius stopped to catch his breath. But soon, he heard gasps and anguished cries from all around him. He looked up.

Alpha watched helplessly as the battle for the outer walls turned into a tragedy. Delta squad were now caught in a death trap as Terran shells pounded them from all sides. The last three soldiers – men and women who he was eating with in the mess hall just yesterday – fought to their last bullet in a desperate last stand. A sniper's bullet cut through Evans' helmet. Jacobs took down two oncoming light assault troopers before she was three-shotted through the chest. Sergeant Gunning, lost behind the last battlement, unpinned a grenade and fell onto a squad of massing Terran heavy troopers, unleashing a final cacophony of destruction that echoed across the entire base. Then, all of a sudden, there was complete silence.

Delta squad was no more. Marius held his face in his hands, suddenly shaking with silent terror. He looked around the haggard faces of the eight troopers who remained. No spawns and no support. Alpha squad were on their own.


	2. Chapter 2 - Breakout

Landiss patted him on the shoulder, also breathing heavily.

"Good job Acre, good job."

Marius slowly turned to face him, dejection filled his sullen eyes. His thick chest plate was scuffed and chipped almost to the core by bullet holes.

"What now, sir? We wait here to be taken out?"

Landiss stared at the floor for a second or two.

"No. You're going to get out of here, son. Now listen to me carefully. I'm promoting you to lieutenant, effective immediately."

Marius felt a rush of confusion "Sir?"

"Now is not the time for questions, son." He continued, his eyes intense and expression grim "Listen to me. I have two final orders, it is imperative you follow them to the letter. You need to find lieutenant Harrison at Tumas on Amerish. You can trust him and him alone."

His eyes widened, he was speaking faster and almost tripping on his words as if he was running out of time. Marius struggled to keep up, his ears still ringing from the earlier blasts and gunfire.

"Take this," He continued, and pulled out an ancient data disc from his pocket.

"Take this to Harrison. Don't trust anyone outside of the platoon with that thing. And get the squad to safety. Don't try to respawn anywhere else, your signature will be tracked."

Marius' head was swimming once more.

"By who?!"

Landiss glanced briefly to both sides.

"We have enemies both outside, and inside the Conglomerate."

Marius just stared at him, barely able to process the information.

Landiss put a strong hand on Marius' shoulder once more.

"Don't take any stupid risks – one mistake and you're dead. For real this time. So no more charging in."

They were interrupted by a brash shout from the opposite side of the vehicle bay.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Sergeant Gregson, a stout, rotund man who seemed comically uncomfortable in his skin-tight infiltrator suit. He crushed the deathly silence with his wince-inducing cheeriness.

"We thought we were the only ones left!"

He was greeted with a stony stares and folded arms. Beside him staggered two soldiers of Beta squad; from their terrified, bloodstained faces Marius guessed they had only just made it. To Gregson's left, the pale-skinned medic Fowler and the tall, ever-smiling light assault trooper, Banks.

"But-" Marius, looking at Landiss, started again, but his confused brain couldn't help him further. He stood uselessly, eventually slotting the data disc into his suit inventory compartment.

Landiss was no longer paying attention, and had already turned to face the new arrivals.

"Gregson, glad you could join us, we are spawns down."

The infiltrator smiled.

"What do you mean, spawns down? Are we heading back to warpgate?"

"No, Gregson. **All** spawns down. Commander Doran has seen it fit to erase us from the gene bank."

Gregson stopped cold. He gaped open mouthed, his sagging cheeks hanging off his face like a bulldog.

"But Micheals... Micheals is dead?! Oh God... He was 19..."

"Calm down, Gregson, we need to hold it together and think clearly now." Landiss said sternly.

"Well, well... What do we do?! We've got to get out of -" he gasped

"CALM DOWN Gregson!" Landiss lost his patience. The panicking Sergeant now had his thick, curly hair in his pudgy hands.

"We need to stay rational - got it?! Now, LISTEN UP!" He barked, now to the platoon.

"We are alone, with no Conglomerate support. Someone in Command obviously forgot to order our evac..." nervous laughter "I won't bullshit you, the odds here are about twenty to one with God-knows how much armour and aircraft on top of that. We have less than ten minutes before they try to break in here.

So we have two choices. We fight here to the death as the 'Suits' want us to do, or we say 'screw them' and haul out ASAP and live to fight another day. What do you say?"

A chorus of "Haul out!" erupted from the angry group.

"That's right," Landiss nodded with grim authority "Now, the Terrans have managed to block themselves in coming through the North gives us a few minutes to get out of the South exit before they get their shit together. From our intel we know there was an enemy field base approximately 250 metres south of the walls. Hopefully it's still there. We steal their Sunderer and drive it to..."

The beleaguered platoon erupted in cries of protest and agreement.

"That's a suicide mission!" shouted Vickers, enraged.

"Hmm, I didn't come here to die! We should give ourselves in..." spluttered Gregson.

"SHUT IT!" Landiss bellowed with a thunderous voice that seemed to come from a man twice the size. "We don't have time for discussion... Those who would rather meet the Terran interrogation squads personally – you are welcome to stay and give them a good-old taste of NC freedom."

A few more nervous chuckles.

"But all those who want a shot at tasting your momma's cooking one more time – get moving. Acre is your new platoon leader, NO QUESTIONS. Once I give the signal from the control room, you move out."

Cries of confusion once again from the floor.

"You're not coming with us?!" Laughed Medic Fowler, half in incredulity and fear.

"What do you mean, Acre in charge?" Roared Vickers in frustration, his hulking form squaring purposefully up to Landiss, towering over him by at least a foot. Barely-restrained muscles bristled underneath the heavy combat suit. Oh shit, Marius thought, this could get ugly. everyone knew that Vickers had his mind set on getting a promotion.

"So, I'm not squad leader material, huh? So my five years of service weren't good enough for you. You pretentious Academy prick..."

"STAND DOWN Vickers." Landiss bellowed.

"You make me S –"

A large SMACK interrupted Vickers mid-sentence as Landiss punched the side of his face with full force. The crack of bone on bone stunned the milling group into silence. Marius found himself with arms raised, ready to pull them apart. The rest of the squad gasped, motionless.

"STOP THIS!" cried Isla Aldon, her sharp, yet soft cry somehow draining the anger from the pack.

Vickers staggered back, holding the left side of his thickly-bearded face, looking at the floor and voiceless. For a few seconds he shuddered silently, one hand perilously close to his pistol holster. Marius caught sight of Nakano, a few metres away, holding her rifle ready, trained on Vickers' back.

Finally, Vickers raised his head, gave Landiss and Marius a bloodied glare and spat on the floor as he paced calmly to the nearest quad bike, salvaging as much dignity as he could.

"Bullshit!" he shouted, half to himself "If you think I'm gonna take orders from this scrub..."

Landiss shook his hand out and winced silently. He seemed weakened now, as if he'd aged twenty years in just a few seconds. He addressed the remainder of Alpha squad crowded around him.

"Yes, I'm staying. I'm the only one who can access the command console. I can make a distraction while the rest of you make a break for it. Trust me –– the Terrans want me alive. But you have to go now if you're going to make it. The Sunderer 250m to the south is your target. GO!"

The moment that Landiss gave the command, Alpha were running to their vehicles. Marius limped heavily, dragging his feet one by one to the Harasser light-assault buggy parked close to the south shield. Landiss supported his steps the last few metres. His face filled with intensity and purpose.

"Get everyone to Tumas. Especially Isla. I'm counting on you, Marius." Marius returned a slow, uncertain nod.

"But sir... Why me."

Landiss paused and turned to face him once more and winked. Seemingly youthful no more, his face was etched with deep, aged sadness. He spoke softly, almost a whisper.

"You're still a believer. One of the few. Freedom or death." He patted Marius' shoulder one last time.

"Freedom or death." Marius repeated, numb with disbelief, as Landiss walked away.

At the roar of the first Flash ATV engines, the lieutenant bounded the first three steps to the control room and then turned to face the squad.

"My friends, it has been an honour to serve with you this campaign, and I'm sure I'll see you again. I'll be fine! Don't worry about those Terrans – I'll give them a lot more to think about. Whatever you do, do not stop!"

He cried and punched the air "FREEDOM OR DEATH!"

"FREEDOM OR DEATH!" the vehicle bay echoed with the chorus of eleven scared, stoic souls.

In seconds, Landiss' tall shadow had passed the threshold to the inner passages of the base. Marius felt the burden of expectation settle over him. He cleared his dry throat.

"Cyssor platoon – Let's move out!"

[aesop_chapter label="ATVs" title="ATVs" subtitle="ATVs" bgtype="img"]

Eight rusted and muddied ATVs roared into life. Marius gingerly balanced himself on the right seat of the Harasser, lowering the vehicle's suspension almost to the ground. Listlessly, Isla, stumbled towards the driver's seat. Her face was bright red, her glowing hair unceremoniously frayed and clumped. She glared at Marius wordlessly, whipped her helmet on and clambered into the driver's seat, immediately gunning the engine.

There was scraping sound from all sides of the facility. A POP, then another, and soon the whole base resounded with the faint thuds of explosions outside. An explosion of glowing embers, like a firework, hit the side of the glowing shield. Flak cannons, but from the base walls themselves?

Marius stared expectantly at the corporal.

"Isla, is that the signal?"

Loud thuds accompanied the pops. An explosion roared from the floors above the squad. Bent and smoking roof plates tumbled from the sky, clanging onto an equipment terminal and sending sparks careering through the heavy air. The squad looked around nervously. Marius felt the adrenaline flowing again, his heart racing.

"Isla, the signal, let's go!" he shouted. But she still waited, immobile.

Another explosion tore through the outside of the roof; an entire beam collapsed and bent, smashing into the ground just metres from the anxious convoy. Marius couldn't stand it any longer.

"PLATOON, MOVE OUT! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

As if he'd flicked a switch, eight ATVs simultaneously burned out of the south shield at top speed. Isla, awoken suddenly from her sleep, gunned the Harasser engine into life, and roared into the clearing, weaving in between the barriers that littered the south yard. The sky was ablaze with gunfire and explosions from all sides. Marius could just make out the flashes from the base turrets, all facing inwards, bombarding the central base itself. Flak and anti-vehicle slugs ricocheted off the sides of the looming structure, some punching holes in the thick armour, others tearing into the innards of the base itself. Glowing flak and wall fragments drifted down upon the squad like molten snow.

The southern courtyard was bare of Republican troops and armour. To the West, a Galaxy troop transport limped haplessly into the air, scarred thickly with gaping holes and a burning left engine. A solitary mosquito pilot, desperately trying to swoop in between the flak, caught an AV shell through the right wing, sending him smoking and spiralling directly into the outer wall, lighting up the sky with the blinding flash of burning nanite fuel. Squad comms suddenly filled with shouts.

"Alpha three – Lightning tank outside south side!"

Marius heard a cannon shot just beyond the walls.

"SHIT! That was Alpha seven – he's down."

"Kirt?!"

The buggy crossed the threshold of the walls and was greeted with a vista of the vast, rolling white plains of eastern Esamir. Fifty metres ahead, a smoking crater was a testament to the remains of the squad infiltrator, Kirt, and his smouldering ATV. A lone Terran Lightning tank swung its turret back and forth in confusion as the convoy of quad bikes rushed past at top speed. Compared to them, the Harasser was an easy target. As Isla swung the car around the outer walls, the tank brought its HE cannon to bear. Isla turned to face it head on.

"Isla, pull away!" Marius shouted in disbelief.

"Hold the wheel." She murmured, emotionless.

As she pulled out her rocket launcher, Marius clumsily grabbed for the wheel with his cumbersome, heavily-armoured hand.

"You're crazy!"

Wordlessly, she stood through the top of the open roof, aiming at the tank, the turret now facing –

"ISLA –"

Marius was thrown out of the side of the buggy; his vision was filled with smoke and flame, the HE pellets clattering off his heavy suit in all directions. The burning wreckage ticked forward noisily, bouncing off the front of the lighting tank, now firing its engine into reverse in order to get a second shot. Isla was nowhere to be seen.

He hauled back himself up using the hydraulic boosters, perspiration flowing down his face. One thought dominated all others - four seconds before the next shot. He slammed his charge button and within two seconds he had bounded the ten metres between him and the reloading tank. He leapt onto the top of the hull, the impact of the 600kg MAX suit crushing the treads deep into the snow. With a shrill whirr, the turret barrel swung sideways, hitting Marius full-on, but not quite fast enough to topple him. Clinging on desperately, he turned and grasped the barrel. Like walking into a hurricane, he redirected it away from the blackened corpse of the Harasser. With a CLUNK, the tank fired uselessly into the open air, sending a shell arcing into the horizon.

Marius winced in agony as he clasped the turret barrel in position, the vehicle's motors slowly overcoming his tiring muscles. With a roar, he slammed the top of the cannon with his left elbow, buckling it with a deep crunch. With this final effort he was spent; the turret flung Marius off the top of the vehicle with a single jerk, and in seconds brought its turret to bear on him, now defenceless and exhausted in the thick snow. The Lightning fired.

There was a dull CLANG and then a brilliant white explosion. The turret barrel tore apart, showering Marius with shell casings and shrapnel. Confused, the defenceless tank attempted to reverse itself to safety, but its front was now so deep in the snow that its treads found no purchase.

There was a flash as a rocket shrieked past Marius into the front of the tank's hull. He shielded his eyes from the bright blaze.

"Maz!"

Nakano screeched to a halt in front of Marius, who was now staggering alone in the open.

"You came back?" he slurred.

"Of course! Get on!"

"What about Isla?!"

"We got her, let's go!" Naka gunned the engine in urgency.

Marius grimaced in pain – he couldn't move his left arm. He hesitantly gripped the front of the quad bike, dragging it deep into the snow drift. It crawled along to the open road, where Vickers was pulling out the limp form of Isla, her golden hair now blackened and her armour pockmarked with dirt and blood.

"Is she ok?!"

Vickers didn't look at him as he replied.

"She's alive, but we need a medic now."

"Good work Vickers." Marius said hesitantly. "Let's get moving."

"Shut it, scrub." Vickers glowered "As soon as we get there I'm out of here."

Vickers placed Isla gently on the seat in front of him, supporting her from behind her with his arms on the handlebars. The two quads gunned as fast as they could along the gravel road, trailing the others who were already at the ridge, 150 metres away. Tracer fire started to light up the sky above the first arrivals.

"Platoon, status report." Marius said over squad comms.

"This is Gregson. Five, maybe six Terrans defending the Sunderer. They're pinned down."

"Roger, hold that line."

In front of Marius, Nakano had her face deep in concentration just to hold the ATV on the stony road with the massive extra weight provided by his MAX suit. The engine whined in protest and Marius was jolted around mercilessly.

The base was enveloped in a haze of smoke and powder. On the west side, the air snapped and crackled a brilliant white as one of the nanite power tubes connected to the station was critically breached. Small puffs of fumes echoed every few seconds around the periphery – the Terrans were taking out the outer turrets one by one with explosives even while they continued to rail at the main compound with withering shells and flak.

But the Terran effort was too little, too late. The brittle, beetle-like carcass of the Amp Station was shredded to the point where the mega-tensile structure could support no more. First, the landing pads, hanging off the body like wings, folded into the shuddering columns and collapsed into the vacuum below. The spindly legs of the nanite tubes broke free of the torso and send the white flames of pure nanite energy erupting from the stumps. Finally, the organic roof of the edifice gave way below itself, disappearing into the void beyond the walls, and sending a sandstorm of black dust and smoke rolling along the walls, along the tracks of the fleeing ATVs, coming to a halt just metres behind Marius and Nakano.

The outer turrets stilled, and were silent. Landiss was no more.

"Alpha one is down." Marius choked, through the sweat and blood. In between the battle cries over the radio there was a moment of solemn, respectful silence.

But the respite was short. As Nakano pulled in the ATV at the bottom of the short ridge, the cackle of rifle fire filled the cold air once again...


	3. Chapter 3 - Grand Theft Auto

The three exhausted soldiers leapt off their vehicles, stopping momentarily to catch their breath at the bottom of the steep, icy hill. Marius awkwardly clambered off the front of the ATV, clutching his locked, swelling arm tightly, as Nakano hauled a pair of ammunition belts off the seat. The giant, Vickers, tip-toed carefully over the ice, still cradling Isla''s motionless body in his arms.

"FOWLER!" Marius barked at a trio of shadows who were peeking nervously over the crest of the mound 5 metres above them, as automatic fire whizzed overhead. One of the figures ducked and turned at the sound of his voice and carefully scrambled down the hill, arriving at the bottom knee-deep in the snow.

"Sir?" he saluted,

"Fowler, do what you can for Isla."

The medic glanced un-easily at the slack, ashen body. Vickers offered the unconscious woman to him, expectantly.

"But sir, I'm out of nanites, there's not much I can do…" his voice wavering as he took stock of the extent of her injuries. He looked overwhelmed.

"I know Fowler, I just need you to keep her alive until we take this Sunderer." Snapped Marius.

Fowler paused, uncertain.

"I'm a combat medic, not a doctor. The manual doesn't –"

"Jesus Christ –" Marius snapped at the cowering private, still smarting from his sore arm "I'm not asking for surgery, just stop her bleeding!"

"INCOMING!" came a cry from the ridge.

Sergeant Gregson and Corporal Banks, the last bastion of the New Conglomerate offence on the mound, were bowled over backwards as a grenade lodged itself in between two bare rocks. A blast echoed across the plain, closely followed by the firework-like contrail of a Terran light assault trooper streaming over their heads. The flyer executed a perfect mid-air pirouette, while somehow keeping his weapon perfectly aimed at the prostrate pair.

But his face soon turned to panic at the sight of the four unexpected adversaries at the bottom of the hill. He fired his afterburners backwards – but it was too late; before the Terran could change direction, he was battered by a hail of fire from Marius, Vickers and Nakano. The trooper sagged, and the out-of-control jetpack buzzed lazily to the ground, depositing the corpse into the drift with a lazy puff of white snow.

"WE NEED SOME BACKUP!" cried Gregson from the summit. Marius nodded to the pair next to him, now down to his second-to-last clip.

"Alright – Vickers, Naka, come with me, let's finish this, quickly."

They clambered through steep, deep snow to the peak, where Gregson and Banks were slowly recovering from the attack. Marius glanced over the ridge. An enormous grey armoured truck rested upon the rocky clearing 30 metres beyond the rise of the hill. The entire left side was emblaisoned with the menacing black and blood-coloured arrow head of the Terran Republic. In amongst spent grenade shrapnel and shards of broken glass, an engineer calmly re-surfaced the bent and smashed skin of the front cab. A double-barrelled .50 cal machine gun turret on the roof pointed at the spot behind which the NC platoon waited.

"There's five of them left, I reckon." spluttered Gregson, wide eyed. "It's the Basilisk cannon that's keeping our heads down, we can't stick move an inch. There's just not enough of us. It's over!"

As if on cue, the rhythmic TUM TUM TUM of the roof-mounted machine gun pummelled the rocky hilltop with another barrage of metal, ricochets bounding over the heads of the cowering group. Marius had no idea what to do. Overwhelmed, powerless, he had no comforting words for the squad.

Vickers butted in "I can take out the Sunderer turret if I can get a distraction. Gregson, get out there and do your infiltrator thing."

Marius flashed him a glare "Vickers, I have command…"

Vickers scowled at him "I think it's time for someone to lead who doesn't get everyone killed, eh?"

Marius' face went red with impotent rage.

"But…"

"Shut it scrub, know your place." Marius recoiled in shame before the giant. "Gregson, get out there." Vickers continued.

Gregson, his eyes as wide as two bowls, shook his head in incredulity, froth wisping from his slack jaw.

"Me… No… On my own?!… I didn''t come here to die…"

"Shut the fuck up Gregson and follow your fucking orders!" screamed Vickers, his craggy face bulging with red rage.

Marius, enraged, suddenly found his strength.

"VICKERS! Stand down… I have command."

Vickers turned his wild eyes to the young MAX suit operator.

"You have command?! Says who? The last words of a suicidal captain who sends his platoon to die in the wastelands?!"

They were interrupted by a sudden shouting from beside them. They both turned to look to find Gregson standing atop the hill, fluttering white canvas in hand.

"WE CAN NEGOTIATE!" he cried, casting a forlorn, pot-bellied shadow over the desolate steppe.

The Sunderer cannon halted to glance curiously at the lone soldier stuffed into the bulging infiltrator suit. It wagged side to side twice.

"Tire-toi! " came the muffled response, in a strange dialect that sounded Hossinian to Marius' ears.

TUM TUM TUM!

Gregson made it to the floor just in time, Banks hauling him back behind the summit. A smoking tunnel bore directly through the top of his curly hair. He shouted in panic and patted maniacally at his sizzling scalp with fresh snow.

"What… the… hell…" Marius and Vickers both stared in disbelief, momentarily forgetting their hatred. But not for long.

"Nice idea, asshole…" Marius couldn't resist. Vickers gritted his teeth for the second round.

"NOW YOU LISTEN –"

"BOYS!" shouted Nakano, shaking her thin-featured face in disapproval. The pair halted their sparring "Stop bitching. Cover me.""

"Naka, what?"

Before anyone could react, Nakano had paced steadily over the head of the ridge, rifle raised to her eye.

[aesop_chapter label="Charge" title="Charge" subtitle="Charge" bgtype="img"]

"NAKA!" Marius cried, half in panic and desperation. He scrabbled to the ridge-top as fast as his broken arm would allow. There were no spawns - she was completely crazy!

Nakano paced calmly across the open field. The Terran engineer was still nonchalantly working on the front door. TAK! He fell wordlessly, a bullet in the dead centre of his back. A heavy assault trooper was lighting a cigarette at the back wheel. It fell from his mouth as he caught sight of the silent figure. TAK TAK TAK –a burst of Gauss slugs slammed square into his helmet; he fell to the ground, groaning. The remaining Terrans cried out.

"À la gauche!"

Marius made out three pairs of boots racing for the far end of the truck. The Sunderer gun turret grinded slowly to face her, alone and without cover in the middle of hundreds of miles of open, frozen wasteland.

"GET IN THERE!" Marius bellowed to the immobile squad mates on the ridge.

The four of them burst into action, firing haphazardly at the Sunderer in a desperate effort to distract the Terrans from Nakano's suicidal advance. Vickers sent a rocket crashing into the gun barrels atop the vehicle, disabling it in a shower of sparks and smoke. Marius engaged his charge button and he bounded at full pelt toward the middle the open field, his good arm bringing his heavy shotgun to bear on the truck, his hanging left arm bringing excruciating tears to his eyes. Banks burned overhead, his jump jet gunning for an angle above their heads.

Marius heard the rapid buzz of Terran automatic rifles. 'Come on, where are they? I CAN'T SEE THEM!' He shouted to himself, willing his shaking legs to somehow give him a burst of extra speed. Ten metres ahead, Nakano suddenly jerked up her scope to face the three unexpected arrivals. Her first shot clipped the shoulder pad of the lead medic, the second punched into his torso –

Suddenly, Nakano's hair flowed into stillness as the strong Esamiran gale ground to a halt. A bullet struck her deep in the right shoulder before she could let off a third shot, followed by a hail of machine gun rounds that nicked her armour from all sides. Silently, she leaned backwards, hanging there for what felt like seconds, before gracefully tumbling into the tundra.

"NO!" Marius cried, tearing forward to place himself in between the hail of bullets and her falling body. The Terran trio turned their attention to him, ploughing bullets into his weak side armour and he felt sharp pangs of torment his under suit once more. He wildly blasted his last hacksaw clip at the crouching group, who desperately covered their helmets under the rain of razor-sharp shotgun pellets. However, the leader, a skull-faced horror of black and white with bloody-red arm and shoulder pads, laughed off the salvo. A four-pronged respirator attached to his mouth added to the inhuman effect.

"Va te faire foutre!" he roared.

Suddenly, Banks was over their heads, going full-auto with a clip from his sub-machine gun, sending the two remaining Terrans scattering from their cover. The back of the Terran infiltrator's head was crushed by the first burst. The small-calibre bullets bounced harmlessly off his flickering shield. The skeleton-faced monster, unperturbed, drew himself up to full height – a full seven foot of bulging muscle and blood red armour. With one hand he pointed his light machine gun at the hovering Banks, pounding him mercilessly with high calibre bullets. Through his tears of pain, Marius saw the contrails spinning uncontrollably towards the earth. Banks' body collided with a corner of the Sunderer before slumping to the ground behind the vehicle.

With a terrified gasp Marius heard the final CLICK of his hacksaw cannon. He was out of ammo. The skull-faced goliath brought his machine gun to bear on Marius without a second's hesitation, popping his torso again with heavy slugs. With a last gasp of strength, Marius burst the 5 metres that separated him from the lone giant; slowing, weakening with every step. Bullets tore through the front armour now, penetrating the shield capacitor, sending sparks flying into his body and face. Blaring red alarms filled his vision from all sides, hot smoke pouring up from all around him, through the open crack in his visor and into the freezing atmosphere.

There was a click somewhere in front of him as the glowing LMG barrel was exhausted – The Terran flailed around for his second clip. Stumbling, Marius lunged at the behemoth. He clasped onto an elbow pad; and turning his shoulder towards the back of the Sunderer, he flung the body of Terran into the hull with all his might, cracking the skull helmet straight down the middle.

"ENCULÉ!" it bellowed, grabbing at its head for protection. With its left hand, it pulled out a shimmering knife and plunged it deep into Marius' left arm.

With a final roar of effort, Marius grabbed hold of the neck with an armoured grip and forced the monster a second time into the back Sunderer with all the power that his MAX suit hydraulics could muster. He heard a CRACK as the soldier slammed into metal, the neck snapping like a thick twig. Marius stumbled backwards and the behemoth flopped harmlessly to the ground.

The alarms blared intensely "OVERLOAD IMMINENT! IMMEDIATE SHUTDOWN ADVISED!". Marius grimaced with the raw heat emanating from the front generator. Through the black haze, he frantically bashed around for the emergency exit button. There was a series of loud clicks that popped from right to left over his head. With a PRANG, the suit launched him backwards and he slid atop his cushioned back plate to come to rest on the sodden ground, several metres behind.

The abandoned MAX suit fizzed and sparked with growing intensity. A lick of flame curled around the front of the chest plate, culminating in a sudden spasm of molten white shot that burst from the concealed shield capacitor. In seconds, the giant figure was ablaze from head to foot, turning nearby rocks molten among the rapidly-retreating snow.

Marius wheezed painfully; his arm crying, his chest punched, battered and bloody. His coughs made him curl over in agony. Through pulsing and bleary vision, he made out an iron-encrusted glove in front of his face. Tentatively, he reached out to grasp it with both arms. Slowly rising, he wiped his eyes and found himself face to face with Vickers, a cigarette shaking through his thick beard and light machine gun crossed behind his back.

"Not bad, scrub." He nodded grudgingly "Now get up."

Disoriented and bleeding, Marius barely paid Vickers any attention.

"What about Naka?!"

And haltingly, he limped as quickly as he could out into the snow in his torn, paper-thin undersuit, oblivious to the tearing wind and the raw cold that numbed his exposed fingers and toes. Gregson was crouched over Nakano, making faltering conversation. Upon Marius' approach he looked up, and coughed in surprise.

"Hmm… Another walking wounded! She's ok, just needs help propping her up. Wait here – I'll get a med gun from the truck." And after a second, disapproving look. "Hmm and maybe some clothes…"

He gently passed the prone, semi-conscious Nakano to Marius' better arm and jogged away towards the stolen Sunderer. His weakness forced Marius to hold Nakano up with his right knee. She sagged into his arm, powerless to support herself. Her thin lips and eyes were pursed in quiet, painful fortitude.

"You could have got yourself killed, Naka." Marius laughed wearily, the heart-pounding adrenaline starting to ebb away. Tears seeped down either side of her face. For a brief second her dark eyes burst open. She forced a weak smile under his gaze.

"To get out of this war? All the better."

A lump formed in Marius' throat at the thought of losing her. He managed a forced smile, gently clearing her long, dark hair from her face.

"You can't leave me here. You promised to show me a Searhus one day…" He cradled her slightly tighter, the frigid air starting to get the better of him, his breath frosting in front of his face. She grimaced silently, biting her lip as she drew his left hand into hers. For the first time in months, Marius felt the unyielding stress of kill and death thaw a little. Vague memories of something more – a distant, happier life – welled up inside of him.

The gale buffeted Marius' face. To the north, the impenetrable smoke from Nott amp station blotted out the sun like a volcanic cloud, the distant sounds of tracked vehicles ominously backdropping the desolate whistle of the open range. Marius knew that the Terrans wouldn't let Alpha squad's insult lie; their escape had only just begun. Kilometres to the east, a winter storm was bubbling up over the coast, menacing the open plains, the perfect cover for a stolen Sunderer.

At least someone was going right today.

Gregson hurried back to the pair with a pile of thick covers in hand. His hair was still comically split and smoking down the middle and a pair of curly devil horns poked out from either side of his head.

"Come on Naka." Marius spoke softly, breaking the strangely peaceful silence. "Time to get out of here. Let's go home."


	4. Chapter 4 - Belly of the Beast

**Eighteen months earlier**

As Sergeant Vickers cracked off the bottle top on the corner of the metal bar, Marius again shot wildly off-target, sending the ball careering off the green table, just inches from Lieutenant Landiss' head. His commander dodged sideways, all the while keeping his beer perfectly still. He looked at Marius with a bemused look on his face.

Marius felt his expression freeze, open-mouthed and shameful red. Vickers, Banks, Kurt and Isla all roared with laughter.

"Hahaha! First day and you almost killed a legend, scrub. Nice going!" laughed Vickers.

Landiss grinned at Marius, bending down theatrically to pick up the humming silver ball. Landiss looked out of place in a blue and black formal officer's cloak that he loved to wear, juxtaposed with his Grade-1 buzzcut.

"So, Private Acre." Landiss approached the table. He placed the hovering orb above the table where it started from. "What brings you to the front line?"

Marius surveyed the group around him, all watching intently with latent smiles. He cleared his throat to give his stock answer. He stood to attention, smiling proudly.

"To fight the oppression of the Terran Republic."

The group burst into laughter. Isla yelped as she half fell off her chair. Marius, shocked by their reaction, stood statue still, his face blushing, a flame of frustration and anger welling up inside him.

Vickers lined up for the next shot, turning to him with his thick beard.

"OK, Private, we can see you practiced that one in basic. But why are you really here? Did your gal leave you? No jobs back on Cyssor? Hell, we've all been there."

Isla cleared her throat, leaning forward on the corner of the pool table, her eyes sparkling "... 'cept no gal could ever stand Vickers, of course."

A few quiet chuckles filled the silence.

Marius fumed quietly, furiously chalking the end of the pool cue. He bit his lip.

"No, that's really why I'm here. I volunteered to free the people of Auraxis from oppression."

The group, huddled around a selection of bar stools and chairs next to the empty bar, glanced at each other curiously, uncomfortable smirks on their faces.

"He's serious?" one whispered, Marius remembered him as Brank, or something like that - one of Vickers' smarmy sidekicks.

Vickers clapped his hands and drew himself up to his full height – at least 6' 4 of muscle. His long, tied hair was the antithesis of NC uniform orderliness. He put his hand on Marius' shoulder.

"Right, Acre, I'm afraid we're gonna have to burst a few bubbles before we trust you in that big old MAX suit of yours. Tell me, scrub, how many times have you been greased?""

Marius glowered under Vicker's patronising gaze, also drawing himself up to full height, but barely reached a measily 5' 10. Vickers continued as he said nothing.

"You know? Greased? Scrubbed? Killed? Deaded?"

"None." Marius replied coldly.

"Zero. Exactly. Now me, I've been greased 42 times in my three years. Banks here can't shoot for shit so he's had it 83 times."

"Shut up Vickers, that ain't true!" Banks punched his arm playfully, laughing.

"Sure, whatever. lieutenant Landiss here is one of the oldest, crankiest sons-of-bitches in the forces, all due respect of course. How many?"

Landiss smiled impassively.

"Over 1000."

A gasp echoed from the group as Vickers continued "Over 1000! And how long did it take us to realise that the war was all bullshit?"

"One!" came the chorus from the group.

"Yes, one. You see Acre, life, freedom, war, don't mean shit when you can't kill or be killed, you know what I mean? This is a job – you do your five years, or more if you're crazy like our dear lieutenant here – then you ship out back home, nice pension fund, find a nice girl who likes 'war heroes' and that, work in a nice admin job and live your **real** life. This war meant something at the start maybe, all those years ago, when people were dying and that kind of serious stuff. But this ain't it anymore."

He took a deep swig of his beer, that apparently was renowned in these parts, but to Marius tasted of cat piss.

"And don't try go around spouting that shit about freedom either," he continued "you know what the New Conglomerate really stands for? Do you know how much profit the Companies made last year? You think they give a shit about us poor bastards doing their dirty work on the front line? Of course they didn't! The NC companies sell to Terran, Vanu, Conglomerate and anyone outside and in between. As long as we keep fighting and using those pricey bullets of theirs then those glorious directors of ours can keep leading the Conglomerate from their beach resort on Hossin or wherever. Naww, there ain't no oppression or freedom here on Auraxis, no more than what **our** bosses do to us.

You just need to play the game... we shoot at each other, die a few times, come back here, play a bit of pool. The front line moves a little every year, but it's not like anyone's gonna - or wants to win... The -"

"OK! Enough Vickers, he gets the point." Landiss barked. "It's your shot."

He winked at Marius.

"Don't listen to him. You'll get the same spiel from Sergeant Vickers every day for the next five years."

Marius wasn't impressed by Vickers' rant. The amount of insubordination, cynicism in this squad was something he had never expected while lining up at the recruitment office. He smouldered as Vickers turned back to get his beer and cue. Banks gave him a high five. Isla clapped. Marius couldn't handle it anymore. He dropped the cue to the floor, his fists crinkling into hard rocks.

"A game? A game?!"

He fished into his jacket pocket and pulled out what had become his bible, these last few months of basic training. He flicked through the pages of the small, blue book.

"Oh no, he's got the book..." Banks moaned flatly, his head in is hands.

"Elliot Genudine, 2753," Marius cleared his throat and spoke with conviction "'The Terran Authorities continue to oppress our brothers and sisters. It is in their nature to oppress. To imprison or execute those who show any flicker of independent innovation or diversity in opinion. The only way to stop them is through armed struggle -"

Vickers held up his hands in protest.

"OK OK! Save us from the goddamned book already..."

His amiable grin turned suddenly serious."Let me make this clear – if you go and start doing anything crazy cos of some... book, I'm not going to come help you. Stick with the group, keep your head down, do your time, get home to momma. That's the deal in this outfit. Deal?"

Vickers extended his hand to shake his own, a knowing, victorious smile on his face. Marius recoiled, staring at the broad man with barely-disguised hatred.

"No deal, Sergeant."

He gave Vickers a cold stare. So be it, he thought. They asked for this.

"You asked if had seen death?! The truth is, I have. Too much. I've seen my mother and father bound, tortured and shot in front of your eyes? Have you seen your sister commit suicide because the pain of their loss was too much? Have you fought your own brother as he loses his mind to a brainless cult? I've seen death. REAL death. And I've seen more than some of you, it seems.

"This war isn't a game – this is real life. If the Conglomerate really are as shitty as you say they are, so be it, I don't care. As long as they put a gun in my hand I will use it to kill as many Terrans as I can. As many as I can until they stop disappearing, killing my people. I can do that with or without you."

Vicker's expression turned to disgust as he squared up to Marius.

"Now you –"

"ENOUGH!" Landiss cried "Both of you. You are both professional soldiers of Alpha squad, Cyssor platoon, New Conglomerate. Now I don't give two shits about why you're really here, but you will follow two rules: 1. you will follow my orders and 2. We will finish this goddamned pool game before lights out. Vickers! Move it!" Landiss bellowed.

And with that, the dark mood was shaken clean out of the room.

Marius slowed his breathing, relaxing slightly as Vickers grunted and turned back to the table. The group, numbed by the sudden outbursts, turned away from the argument. Behind the bar, Nakano stared at him, an almost imperceptible smile on her slight, silent face. Marius felt the flicker of acknowledgement then, of some understanding or connection between them. And she was... pretty.

She caught him staring at her. Blushing, he averted his eyes to the floor.

The click of the long shot echoed through the silent room.

"Miss! Acre – your shot." Landiss called. "Let''s see what you've got."

As Marius turned to the game, Landiss put a hand on his shoulder, gave him a conspiratorial wink and spoke quietly, almost under his breath.

"Believer."

**The Present day**

The Sunderer heaved back and forth as it bounded over the rough gravel road. Marius snapped opened his eyes with a start. He cursed to himself as the sharp stabs of pain from misaligned nerves and muscles returned. Fowler was such a rookie with the med-gun...

"Are we there yet?!" Marius coughed, barely holding himself up with a freezing, shaking hand.

Banks laughed deeply from the opposite bench of the passenger bay, his face still cheerful, despite being mottled with scars and with dark bruises.

"No sir, you're just in time!"

Wincing, Marius slowly pushed himself up and clambered over piles of hastily-discarded Terran munitions and armour to the driver's seat.

"So, scrub, how does it feel to wake up to your entire platoon dying?" Vickers spat venomously as he limped past.

Marius avoided his stare, but his mouth went dry with anger.

He recalled the debate of the night before. As the freezing snowstorm that battered the stolen truck, the squad had spent a shivering hour tooing and froing as to which way to go next. Vickers had insisted that 'his guys' down south were unshakeably loyal to him, the only problem being that they were 200 clicks south through Vanu territory. Vickers figured that they could dodge Vanu patrols in the storm, but Marius didn't trust him for a second.

Not that he had a better idea himself. He had explained that sneaking back through NC territory to their own warpgate would be the most obvious plan. But stupidly, he totally forgot about the possibility that Doran's forces, and maybe others, would be looking to help mop up the surviving witnesses of his betrayal.

Just as his argument started to fall apart, and the squad begin to side with Vickers 'best of a bad choice', Gregson chimed in with his completely crazy, yet daring plan.

Marius shook his head at the thought. Things had gone **so bad** that driving straight into the Terran warpgate turned out to the most sensible option. The argument had been fierce, but Gregson managed to convince Fowler, then Nakano and finally Marius had agreed.

The fact they had Terran vehicles and armour hadn't swung it for Marius. It was the absolute insistence of Gregson that as an experienced NC infiltrator, he knew the layout, and Terran entry codes for the north east Esamir warpgate. The fact they were de-spawned meant that their NC respawn chips wouldn't be picked up by the warpgate security sensors. Gregson would need just two minutes to drive to the centre and warp to Amerish. Banks eventually turned after all this had been explained, and only Vickers' vehement words prevented an early night.

"You heard me." Marius was jerked back to reality as the barrel-chested giant continued "We shoulda just taken our chances through Vanu territory. At least there wouldn''t be 10,000 troopers waiting for us there, eh? Now we're serving ourselves up on a plate. You think they'll just let us drive straight into the warpgate and teleport to Amerish? No, they''ll capture, torture and kill us the moment they see us. Nice job, Acre, nice job. Now we'll never get home. Landiss would have been proud."

Gregson craned backwards as far as his thick neck would let him, glancing past Marius to the centre of the truck with disdain.

"Will you shut up Vickers? We get it, now it's boring!"

He shook his head at Marius, singed blonde curls drooping forlornly over his round face.

"Hmm. He's what we call a 'glass-half empty' guy. Trust me - the odds are on our side – we're de-spawned, we have a Terran truck and we're doing exactly what they least expect us to do. We stay calm, we'll make it."

"OK Gregson," Marius smiled weakly "I hope you know what you're doing..."

Suddenly, the clouds from the seemingly-endless snowstorm cleared. Ahead of the truck was the fizzing red glow of the Terran warpgate. Three curved prongs lanced in a half-circle, hundreds of metres in radius, towards an intense white glowing central light. The outer shield hummed with flowing, coalescing, spurting energy – the mysterious product of ancient, encrypted alien technology. Marius felt a lump lodge itself in his throat as the enormity of their task became clear. There were thousands of Terran soldiers standing within that dome. Tens of thousands. Marius' stomach dropped at the thought. Maybe Vickers was right. This was a stupid idea. But it was too late to change course now.

Banks jumped his feet, smiling broadly at the sight.

"I can't believe it. We made it. I never thought I'd see this. I've been dreaming of this since I was a boy. I imagined that I'd have an army behind me, of course. Do you know how many NC troopers have made it this far?"

"Hmm... Five. Plus me. I mean, probably." Gregson muttered

"No way man - Gregson. You've been here before?" Banks blurted.

"Well, I realise I may seem like an idiot, but I'm still a damn good infiltrator."

"Bullshit, you couldn't hide in a maze!" Vickers laughed.

"Hmm well, I'll have you know that I was there when we took down the Terran respawn bank in '84..." Gregson stuttered in protest.

A flicker of metal in the sunlight caught Marius' eye. He snapped to attention.

"Guys," he interrupted "let's quiet it down, we're coming up to the checkpoint."

The squad rushed into action, doing final checks on their 'borrowed' Terran weapons and armour. Marius smiled nervously to himself. This leadership thing wasn't so hard if you sound like you mean it. He drew himself to full height, clapping his hands with forced enthusiasm.

"Listen up Alpha! stay quiet and look professional. You all look like Terrans. Make them believe you are Terrans. So act stupid, and say nothing."

A couple of chuckles came back.

"Let Gregson do the talking. We WILL make it to Amerish."

A couple of hundred metres to the front of the truck, a column of three Prowler heavy tanks pulled out of the Terran checkpoint at the gate. Marius felt his heart pump with adrenaline.

"Stay left, Gregson." He said coldly, his hand on the back of the Sunderer's driving seat. The Prowler tanks accelerated with a low rumble.

"Left, Gregson! Terrans drive on the left!"

The lead tank, bringing its cannons to bear barely 100 metres away, blared a deafening fog horn, shaking the brittle windscreen of the damaged truck. Gregson finally swung the truck over to the other side of the road, sending Marius clattering into the side wall. Nakano shuddered into wakefulness in the passenger seat.

"Hmm, shit, you're right. Sorry." Gregson mouthed, red-faced.

"For nanite's sake..." Marius shook his head, suddenly questioning his decision to trust the infiltrator with anything. He had heard rumours of Gregson's had a history of fuckups and general incompetence... Now he cursed himself for not checking out those rumours earlier.

The Terran checkpoint was rapidly approaching. A formidable red gate shield stood firmly alongside a matt-black bunker that towered over the approaching truck. In front, four Terran troopers in stock red and grey waited expectantly behind a pair of menacing AV cannons. One soldier, slightly taller than the others, waved them down with a black-gloved hand, right arm firmly clutching a TRAC-5 carbine. Marius settled back down on the bench in the passenger bay. He sighed, pulled nervously at his bare chin, then committed himself to silence for the next five minutes. As the truck drew to a halt, he could just make out the dull face of an officious Terran border guard through the driver's side window.

Gregson saluted "Morning, soldier. Loyalty until death."

The Terran guard saluted instinctively and gazed dumbly through the side window of the cab at the squad. He slurred slowly in a low, Hossinian accent.

"Yeah, Loyalty 'til... whatever – You having trouble driving your truck?""

"Not at all, corporal. We took a hit to the axle back at Nott. Drives like a three-legged mule." Gregson gave a slightly-too-loud, hollow laugh.

"Uh-huh." Nodded the Terran dumbly, his mouth ajar. He chewed mechanically on a thick wad of black gum. He flicked his head back down to a screen in his left hand.

"Uhh, so what regiment you from?"

"Ghost corps." Gregson replied steadily.

"Hah. Ghost corps?! That's new. I ain't never heard of no Ghost corps." He scanned some sort of list on a handheld tablet. "Here say your vehicle is registered with the... 5th Cavalry at Nott. One second ––" He looked up, puzzled.

"Hey Jimmy! You ever heard of a 'Ghost Corps'?"

Marius' heart started to race. Rumbled already?!

"Look, soldier." Gregson muttered desperately through clenched teeth. "Ghost corps is above your clearance. We are de-spawned infiltrators back from a sabotage mission at Eisa. Now you let us through or I'll take this up with your superiors."

The soldier turned back with a start "What you say, de-spawned? Like, no spawn?"

Gregson nodded several times, seemingly frustrated "Yes, of course, that's it. Check for yourself."

"Alright..."

Marius felt a collective intake of breath in the truck as the guardsman brought out a small handheld device and aimed it carefully at the side of Gregson's head. A thin, red wave of laser light danced over his skull. After five seconds, Marius heard a negative beep.

"Well shit." The soldier brought a hand up to his face as if to pull back his words. "I'm sorry sir. Sorry t'have questioned you. We – we really appre'sate what you people do for the Republic. Puttin' your lives on the line and all."

Marius sighed with relief. He recalled the legends of the 'de-spawned'. The most hard-core soldiers of the entire army. Without the activated implant that broadcasts their location to friendly spawn banks, the de-spawned don't trigger the automatic sensors that litter enemy facilities, making them the best infiltrators on Auraxis. The downside – only one life to live. Only the most loyal, crazed soldiers volunteered for such risk.

A second Terran trooper - a tall, lumbering brute - reached the window. His face appeared equally as dumbstruck as the first.

"What's up, Dale?"

Dale pointed at Gregson like a museum exhibit.

"Say Jimmy, these troopers are done been de-spawned. How abouts you show them some respect."

The big guy turned to the driver's seat.

"De-spawned?! For real?! We really appreciate –"

Gregson held his hand up in acknowledgement.

"Yes, yes comrades, your appreciation is welcomed, but we cannot stay long. Now, we're coming back from a vital mission and need to rendezvous with our superiors for debrief. If you could point us in the direction of the main warpgate compound I would be thankful."

The pair shot each other a puzzled look, as if Gregson was speaking a foreign language. Marius wanted to scream at him to stop using this ridiculously out-of-place aristocratic Indarian brogue.

"Rendez- . Oh, ok." murmured Dale sullenly. "The main warpgate compound – umm.. That's straight up past four or five crossroads, then left."

Gregson saluted at the two troopers. "Now, good day. Loyalty until death."

The two slow privates threw their hands up to their helmets. Gregson pulled away as rapidly as he could without raising suspicion. There was a shout from behind.

"Oh wait, HOLD IT!"

Gregson cursed with frustration as he switched off the motor one more time. Marius clenched both fists in disbelief. The two troopers jogged up to the window once more. Dale dropped his head respectfully.

"Sorry sir, we just got new orders – all arrivals have t'be inspected. Trouble at Nott or somethin'. Not my choice, but I gotta call in Colonel Kruger."

"Can't we just - ?" Gregson pleaded, but it was too late, the guard was already on the radio.

"He'll be here in two seconds. You just stay right tight here." Dale nodded like a happy dog, grinning foolishly.

"OK." Gregson sighed slowly. He turned back to the squad, shrugging. All were pinned to their seats in breathless silence. Marius, panicking, shouted in a loud whisper across the truck.

"Gregson! What's going on?! Who's Colonel Kruger? I thought you knew what you were doing?!"

The infiltrator spoke out of the side of his mouth, still smiling "Relax! Hmm - it's routine, when the Republic are spooked by something, they do this all the time. Stay quiet and look Terran, they won't come up with anything. Hmm, all our NC weapons were chucked out, right?"

"Right." Marius nodded.

"Oh, and move Isla over to the side bench. He'll come from the back."

[aesop_chapter label="Inspection" title="Inspection" subtitle="Inspection" bgtype="img"]

In a few frantic seconds, Vickers and Marius picked up Isla and put her on the side bench. She murmured feverishly as the pair carried her out of the path of the back doors. As soon as they had set her down, there was a knock from the back doors.

"Colonel Kruger here. Inspection. Open these doors." Came a stern, booming voice.

Marius, his hands shaking slightly, undid the latch and the portal swung open into the fresh morning air. A tall, broad officer in a black and red beret waited expectantly, arms crossed. He looked to be in his mid-40s, with a bald head and pale skin pulled tight to his bony jaw. A cruel, almost imperceptible grin turned up either side of his thin mouth. He wore a dark red cape, fixed at the shoulder with a golden clasp bearing the Republican insignia. The two young Terran guardsmen saluted stiffly to either side of him.

As he approached, he held a hand over his mouth "Smells like a wet dog in there."

His heavy boots clinked on the back of the truck. "I thought we taught basic hygiene in boot camp."

He turned back to the two guards, who stood expectantly.

"You two –" he waved at them dismissively "Go back to your posts. The Nott brigade will be returning in minutes."

"Yessir!" The two guardsmen shouted enthusiastically and jogged back to the gate.

The tall colonel ducked slightly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling of the passenger bay. "Well, stand up soldiers! Where's the decorum?"

Marius stood up rapidly and shot a wild salute. His legs chattered weakly as the colonel took off his beret. A thick, knotted scar ran from the top of his forehead to his neck. Kruger swung his skull from left to right to look at the squad.

"Christ, you sorry rabble are a mess. Who's in charge here?" he thundered, freezing Marius with deep, black eyes; the terrifying side effect of permanent infra-red eye replacements.

"H –" Marius, dumbstruck, pointed to the front of the truck.

"I am, sir." Shouted Gregson from the front seat.

"Since when do squad leaders drive?"

"Our Sunderer driver is down, sir." He pointed to Isla, who was breathing shallow breaths.

The Colonel nodded wordlessly. He peered under the blanket where Isla lay with the barrel of his rifle. Marius so desperately wanted to snatch it from his hands...

"Hmm. So you're Ghost Corps, huh? It seems the Commanders don't even deem it necessary to inform border control these days."

His head suddenly cocked upwards in surprise. Marius caught his breath.

"Lieutenant -?!" the Colonel snapped.

"Gregson, sir." Gregson stood on the driver's seat in order to face the Colonel.

"Lieutenant Gregson. You should know that we don't allow Conglomerate contraband within the warpgate. This pistol should be handed to supplies ASAP, you hear me?"

Marius felt a cold ripple of fear. Isla's pistol, still strapped to her hip. They'd forgotten to check.

"Yes – yessir." Gregson replied falteringly.

The colonel struck the metal floor with the barrel of his rifle. The squad jumped to attention.

"I see several problems here. Now you all get fresh armour from Supplies. You look ridiculous in this mis-sized shit. I don't care what secret regiment you're from, you can't drive around putting the Republic to shame like this!"

Suddenly, he pointed to the driver's seat with his black gloves.

"You, up front! That applies to you too. Attention!"

Nakano scrambled up as fast as she could. Her bruised, cut face and arm sling cut a sorry figure in the weak light from the windscreen. The Colonel blankly held Nakano's gaze for one second.

"Where are **you** from, soldier?"

"Searhus, sir." She replied, coolly.

A gust of wind whipped through the back of the truck, making Marius shiver. Suddenly, the Colonel turned for the door.

"Well, it appears everything else is in order. Get to Supplies ASAP, return that contraband and fix up this joke of a truck. Other than that you're clear to move on."

The colonel bent down at the threshold of the back door. He took one last fleeting glance at the poker-faced troopers, replaced his beret and took a step –

Vickers launched himself at the Colonel, pulling him down from the waist. Kruger's rifle clattered into the side of the truck, inches from Isla's face.

Marius jumped in surprise "Vickers?!"

The Colonel crashed heavily to the ground. He shouted and elbowed Vickers in the stomach, but the bear-sized trooper was too strong to even notice. His cries were muffled by Vickers' thick hand. The Colonel bit hard on his fist.

"HELP ME! CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR." Vickers roared, through gritted teeth.

Fowler rushed for the back door, slamming it shut as calmly as his frantic state would allow. Snapping into action, Marius dove onto the Officer's elbow, pinning it to the cold floor as Banks fell upon on his flailing knees.

"FUCK ME! He's got teeth!" Vickers cried out, launching a solid punch into the side of the bald man's head. Dazed, Kruger head knocked the floor, and Vickers could finally remove his arm, now streaming blood from fingers to elbow. The Colonel began to yell at the top of his voice.

"HEL - !"

"SHUT. UP!" Vickers pushed his second hand over his jaw.

"Tie him down!" Shouted Marius.

Marius struggled with the dazed officer's loose as they rolled him onto his side. There was a dull 'puff' from the front cab. The sound of gunfire chattered distantly.

"Jesus. What the hell is that?!" Marius cried out, as quietly as his ragged nerves would allow.

"Decoy grenade!" Gregson cried from the driver's seat, firing up the engine "Hmm, that should keep the guards busy. I'm moving out, direct to the gate. Stay calm, and quiet."

The distant shouts and thuds of Terran boots ran towards the source of the gunfire. Gregson guided the Sunderer crept surreptitiously onto the main road to the centre of the warpgate, and soon the scene was calm. Just fifty metres away from the gunfire, the scene was calm - Marius assumed that they weren't heard over the regular clangs of vehicles repairing, reloading and mobilising. Terran soldiers thronged every side of every turning – infantry brigades marching, armoured columns resupplying, aircraft refuelling over landing pads. None paid the Sunderer the least bit of attention. As Marius bound the Officer's hands, he shook his head in disbelief.

"What the HELL, Vickers?" Marius shouted, enraged. "We were almost out of there!"

With three men on top of him, they managed to bind Kruger with spare cord. Nevertheless, the Colonel restarted his struggle against the binds. Marius shoved a thick wad of cloth into the officer's mouth so Vickers could finally remove his hand.

"Don't be naïve, newbie." Vickers grimaced as Fowler salved his bleeding hand with the med-gun "He knew. Because of her." Pointing at Nakano. She stared back, sullen and wordless.

"He's right, Acre." Gregson called back. "Hmm, Searhusians are banned from the Terran military. It was my fault, it didn't cross my mind. But no matter now. We're still ok. Hmm, Just don't let him shout too much back there, we still have a few minutes till we're out."

Too late. The colonel had already torn through the cloth with hardened metal teeth.

"Hah! New Conglomerate scum. We will catch you and interrogate you until you are no longer human. We will bore into your mind until you can no longer think..."

He pulled his head upwards, holding a wide-mouthed, joyful smile.

"And you, you Searhus bitch. We will break your kind like no other. Do you know what we did to the lowlands of Searhus last month? You're from the lowlands, right? We burned down the villages. All of them. Your fucking dog family are all gone."

Nakano leapt out of the front cab seat like a cat. She clattered into Marius and Vickers, pushing them aside. Tearing Isla's rebel pistol from her holster, she pushed the weapon into the Colonel's forehead.

"Do it, scum." Laughed the bloodied Colonel, holding his icy grin.

Marius placed one hand gently on her quivering back and the other on the pistol barrel. She flicked her head between him and Kruger. He spoke to her as calmly and softly as he could with a shaking voice.

"No, Naka... He's lying. He wants us to kill him so he can respawn within the minute – he'll shut down the gate and we'll all die."

Naka's brown eyes were red and swollen; tears were edging down her cheeks. She shook her head in disbelief.

"He's lying?" She whispered.

"Yes, Naka. I promise you. Later, when we get through this, we'll take him out. But not now. Not here. Please put it down."

She nodded softly and lowered the pistol. Suddenly she pulled the Colonel's face just inches from her own, staring at him silently. He laughed softly, spit and blood flowing from his face. With her left hand she swung the weapon between her legs and pointed at his kneecap.

BANG!

Blood showered the squad. The colonel roared with pain, limbs flailing wildly in all directions.

"NAKA?!" Marius shouted in disbelief as she calmly stood, throwing the pistol at the wall.

"I didn't kill him." She shrugged, looking at him steadily, expressionless. She slumped down behind the driver's seat, armed crossed over her shoulders. Her dark eyes didn't seem to register the bloody scene in front of her.

"Hmm, that's not helping guys!" Gregson barked desperately.

Vickers once again covered the Colonel's weeping face with both hands to mask his cries. Banks and Marius held his body down.

"Can SOMEONE here hold it together, please?!" Vickers shook his head "Fowler, fix this fucker up. We can't have him bleeding everywhere."

As Fowler lit up Kruger with the Nanite stream, the anaesthetic shots within it fired up, and his struggles began to lessen. After a few seconds, Kruger's arm no longer resisted. Marius was finally able to stand up and check on their progress. Gregson had latched onto a convoy of supply Sunderers that were snaking their way to the final ramp into the centre of the warpgate. The vertical white beam shuddered just 20 metres from the squad. A background hum vibrated louder and louder as the Sunderer approached. A mounting excitement welled up within Marius; so close to freedom!

"Are you sure we can get through, Gregson?" Marius asked breathlessly.

"Hmm, positive. The warpgate can't tell that were NC as long as we're de-spawned."

Marius put a hand on Gregson's shoulder. "I don't know what we'd have done without you. Thanks, Gregson."

Gregson nodded, "anytime."

The Sunderer pulled into a queue of three other troop transports that wound their way up the shallow entrance ramp. As Gregson parked the truck in second place he sighed deeply, his head resting on the wheel.

"Hmm, I've got to get another job..." he murmured.

Suddenly, the cone of light disappeared. The whole convoy was left adrift in the middle of the centre of the warpgate. A siren blared from all directions, a female voice shouted calmly from hundreds of invisible speakers.

"WARNING. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN INITIATED"

Red lights rotated rapidly atop the cold, stony buildings that surrounded them. Marius collapsed into the back of the driver's seat.

"NO?! But we're there!" he cried.

"It's game over guys!" Vickers threw up his hands. The Colonel began to laugh once more, quietly in the seconds before unconsciousness.

Gregson hit the wheel with both arms. He turned back to Marius, a pained look creasing his thick cheeks.

"Someone tripped the alarm..."

"Wh- what do we do?!" cried Fowler from the back doors.

Gregson was silent, his face in his hands, throbbing red lights passing over his head. Evidently he was out of ideas. It was up to himself now, Marius knew.

After a few seconds he had a brainwave.

"Wait – I have an idea. Now listen to me. Everyone grab a rifle and wait for my signal at the back door. We're gonna surprise them..."


	5. Chapter 5 - Enforcers

Vickers aimed Colonel Kruger's Terran rifle at Marius.

"Now this is fun. Where do you want it Acre? Head? Chest?"

"The windscreen will be fine, Vickers."

The rifle cracked and he heard the bullet smash through glass behind him. Marius instinctively ducked and covered his ears as Vickers fired twice, three, four times.

"Stop?!" Nakano cried.

"Chill out Vickers! Put it down man!" Banks placed his hand coolly on his shoulder. Vickers' red face was quivering with rage. He slowly lowered the rifle. The vehicle was quiet; thin smoke and the smell of burning cordite drifted over the shocked squad.

"Smoking nanites, Vickers..." Banks said.

Outside came the cries of Terran guards and the rumble of approaching tanks.

"Now..." Vickers breathed heavily, looking around the squad as if nothing had happened. "What are we waiting for?"

Still shaking with the all-to-familiar adrenaline rush of close gunfire, Marius pushed his way past the squad to the back doors. He glanced at the Terran Colonel lying unconscious on the floor of the Sunderer.

"He's out?" Marius asked.

"Like a baby," replied Banks.

They grunted as they hauled the tall Colonel upright.

"Remember, he attacked us, we are de-spawned agents who need to get to Amerish ASAP. Got it?" The squad nodded at Marius in turn.

"OK, get ready!" he shouted.

On three, they burst through the doors into the open. Bright sunlight twisted through the warpgate dome to douse the world in a watery red hue. Immediately his ears were filled with the cacophony of shouts from all sides. Hundreds of dark figures surrounded him.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Weapons down! Hands up!"

"ON THE FLOOR!"

Marius threw his weapon to the ground and fell to his knees. Two rough hands locked his arms. The grim-faced Terrans rifled through his pockets, throwing off his pistol, his comm pad.

"Anything else?" one growled. Marius shook his head.

They pulled him up, and pushed him backwards until he collided with the rest of the squad, alone in the middle of the clearing between the warpgate and building complex. The red shimmer of the warpgate pulsed angrily all around them. They were surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of Terran soldiers, workmen, and officers, all with weapons raised. The TR troopers eyed Kruger's unconscious, bleeding body, none confident enough to approach.

After a few seconds, three tall figures strode confidently out of the throng. A head taller than the nearest man, covered in scars and tattoos the length of their naked arms, completely hairless, with muscles the size of tree trunks; Marius recognised them from the childhood horror tales. The Enforcers.

Near the start of the War, The Empires discovered that after around 10,000 respawns, a soldier's DNA structure and neuron network became irreversibly damaged. The Tubes started churning out soldiers with severe disfigurements and mental trauma; soon the Generals realised that they had a crisis on their hands.

In order to save their most experienced soldiers from further, irreparable harm, the three Factions gave their veterans two choices. Most accepted administrative roles within the military planning and logistics departments, with no access to weaponry, and their movements continuously tracked.

However, many were already too crazed, too psychotic to be trusted within an office environment. Each faction had their own solution, but in the Terran Republic, they became 'Enforcers', the iron fist of military discipline. By brutal means they kept order in the Terran bases across Auraxis. But after 10,000 deaths and countless kills during their career on the battlefield, the Enforcers could not give punishment lightly. New recruits who tried to desert, soldiers who got too drunk and staggered out of line in a bar fight, even random passers by, were summarily executed by the Enforcers. But the upside was that their loyalty to their Empire was absolute. Given carte blanche by fearful Terran Commanders to hold discipline together within the warpgates and key bases, desertion was almost eliminated from the their ranks. Anyone who crossed them could expect the worst forms of torture or suffering.

Marius' nightmares now stood before him.

The three beasts carried snub-nosed sub-machine guns strapped from their shoulders. The leading brute was taller than the two others, with a long, flat nose fractured in several places.

"Who's command?" He grunted in a deep, flat voice. His eyes twitched with each word, sniffing sharply with every movement.

Marius held up a hand limply, the blood seemingly evaporated from his limbs.

"Me." He said in a weak voice.

The broken-nosed giant swung around his whole body to face him.

"Explain." He pointed at the icy ground.

The two other Enforcers dragged the body of Colonel Kruger across the snow. Marius strained to remember the story he had practiced several times over in his head.

"He - he attacked us." He stuttered in a terrible imitation of a Hossinian accent "Somethin' about 'enough of all this shit.' He shot us, broke the dang windscreen. We shot back, naturally, now he's gone dead-head on us."

The Enforcer stared blankly at Marius for what felt like minutes. Drops of sweat rolled down his forehead despite the icy wind, as those black, ancient eyes seeming to probe deep into his thoughts. Suddenly, Broke-Nose burst out laughing, first a chuckle, then a roaring belly laugh, staring intensely without ever, ever blinking. It was all Marius could do to keep a blank face in his terror.

"That guy? Kruger? Enough of it all?" Broke-Nose pointed a giant, shaking hand at the fallen officer.

Marius nodded rapidly. The Enforcer pointed his SMG at the corpse.

TAK TAK TAK!

Fountains of blood sprayed into the air. There were several cries from the crowd. Marius was so scared he couldn't keep still, his feet shifted back and forth nervously. He felt the urge to run.

"Hahaha!" Broke Nose continued "He's had enough now. That felt good. Yeah."

The other two Enforcers chuckled in harmony. Broke-Nose smiled at Marius.

"I don't like that fucker anyway. Too serious. We'll check his story in the respawn tube."

Suddenly, his face turned to a sneer. His breath seemed to shake in barely-restrained rage.

"And what's your story? What's the truth, eh?"

He grabbed him by the throat and pulled himself just inches from his face. His acrid breath overwhelmed Marius' sinuses, making him retch. The creature's loose mouth edged drool.

"Now don't you think I didn' notice those marks on his wrists." He whispered. "You had Kruger all tied up didn't you? Now I know you weren't just playin' gimp; there's more to this. Let's draaagg it out. Hahaha!"

He hopped jovially around the squad. As if inviting her to dance, he grabbed Nakano by her arm, and dragged her, only half standing, to the front of the squad. He shoved her to her knees, the hot rifle barrel pushed into her hair. Marius' head pulsed frantically. No, not her! What can I do? Should I tell them the truth? But he'll kill us all?! But I can't let him shoot Naka? Not her!

"No, please! I'll tell you -" he cried.

Broke-Nose grinned with pleasure at Marius' reaction. He looked at the other two enforcers briefly and laughed louder.

"You see?!"

He turned back to Marius.

"Haha! Now, normally we like to take the girls out of the squad and grease them first. The guys - they're normally 'protectin' their women' or somethin' like that. We get the story quick." He nodded sagely at Marius "Case in point..."

"...But that's old fashion'. An', I'm an innovator. I like trying new stuff. And the gals these days, they've got more balls than the guys. Good soldiers. No point wastin' them. You get back in line, sugar."

He flung Nakano back at the other two grunts. She fell over as she collided with their strong arms. She wrestled uselessly as they dragged her back to the pack.

"So I say," continued Broke-Nose "...why not kill two birds. I hate wasters. And squads these days are full of wasters. Wet-faced puppies from some god-awful town on some shitty continent who can't pick their own goddamn nose. A danger to themselves and the Terran Republi'. I don't like it. So I like to grease a Newbie or two first, then I get your story. So the Republi' wins twice. Jack - pull out that chicken shit there."

The second pulled out Foster from the group. Marius watched in horror. He felt paralysed, there was nothing he could think to say or do to make this better.

"Now wet-face here, is an insult to the Terran Republi'." Broke Nose held the tiny private on the shoulders firmly with both hands. "Tha' snivelling nose, tha' lack of backbone, tha' slouching. I seen his type one thousand times before. He can't shoot, he can't run, he can't think, he can't do anything without his boss holdin' his hand. If I waste him, I'd be doin' your outfit a favour."

Foster wept weakly in his tight grip. Broke-Nose pulled out a repeater pistol and checked the bullets.

"No, wet-face is gonna cause the Republic no more problems."

"Wait! Please!" Marius shouted. But then, he stopped himself. Broke-Nose glared at him, mouth open wide in seeming disbelief.

"Don't you tell me you give a shit! Don't you tell me you _care_ about him, this piece of crap! You killed hundreds and you **care for him?! I'm picking out the maggots, for you, to help you!**"

He clicked off the safety of his pistol and pushed the barrel into Foster's forehead.

"We're -" Marius started. No choice now.

"8-A-4-2-V-D-9-0" Fowler shouted "8A42VD90."

Broke-Nose froze. He pushed Fowler hard in the side of the head, his face flared with anger.

"You're shittin' me." He growled.

Fowler mumbled again through the giant's hand "8A42VD90."

Marius shook his head in confusion, glancing from the skinny medic to the giant brute. What the hell was Foster saying?! Broke-Nose stared hatefully at Marius.

"8A -"

The Enforcer gave him a sharp slap to the side of the head with the butt of his weapon. Fowler tumbled sideways onto the ice.

"I heard you scrub. Shut up."

Broke-Nose raised the gun and nodded to the two other Enforcers. He paced up to Marius slowly, towering over him.

"I don't know what game you're playin', sir, but next time, I'd apprecia' it if you tell me this up-front. And in front of the grunts too. You'll hear 'bout this again, trust me. The Generals'll hear about this clusterfuck..."

He gave him a long glare, then turned and waved off the soldiers.

"OK, all back to your posts. It's over. I said GET BACK fuckers or YOU'RE NEXT!"

As the throng massed too and fro around them, the Enforcers paced slowly back into the complex of buildings, waving, shouting and shoving soldiers who bustled all around them. Marius breathed rapidly, confused. He didn't understand at all. What the hell did Foster just say?

The squad stood, immobile, alone in the shadow of the warpgate. When the huge beam of the warpgate teleporter fired into life, they were galvanised into action.

#

"Hmm - get back in, quick!" Gregson shouted.

They picked up their rifles, and ran back to the truck, Vickers and Gregson carrying Isla inside. Marius slammed the door behind them. The six of them sat exhausted on the back bench of the truck, fearful to show their faces through the broken windshield. Freezing wind whistled through the Sunderer, but Marius was too exhausted to care. He was still paralysed by fear.

"Everyone OK?" Banks said, breaking the stony silence.

Vickers shook his head in his hands.

"What... Just what ?!"

Gregson sighed deeply.

"Hmm, I say we get us to Amerish ASAP. I don't want to spend another minute here."

"I second that." Banks collapsed on the back of the chair "Anyone got a smoke?"

Vickers, on the opposite site, grabbed Fowler by the collar, earning a yelp. He raised his ball of a fist above his head as if to strike him.

"I say 'Private' Fowler here tells us what the hell is going on!"

Banks pulled on his arm.

"OK Vickers calm down, he just saved our ass."

"Saved our ass?! He could have 'saved our ass' thirty minutes ago when we arrived! Where was your code at the checkpoint scrub, huh? They're secrets here, something's going on. Tell us, newbie. Go on."

Fowler's head hung low.

"It's... complicated."

"Bullshit it's complicated, how about I make it simple for you?" Vickers pulled back his arm.

Marius was jerked into action at the sight of his raised fist.

"VICKERS!" he shouted.

Vickers' fist hovered in the air.

"...let's take it easy!" Marius continued, the words flowing from some residual sense of rationality in his scrambled brain.

"Fowler's not going anywhere. Let's get out of here, we'll sort this out when we get through the warpgate, ok?"

Vickers' furrowed face shook in rage, then slowly in realisation. He threw up his arm dismissively.

"I've had enough of this shit..."

Gregson started up the engine.

"Hmm, hold onto your seatbelts Alpha Squad."

The Sunderer pulled up the ramp, alone. Once on top of the ramp, just metres away from the pale column of light, the constant hum of the warpgate became noiseless. Suddenly, there was a clunk, the Sunderer ground to a halt. Stalled. No, not again! Marius cried in his head.

"Hmm.. Oh, sorry!" Gregson called back from the driver's seat. He laughed nervously.

Why do we let him drive?! Marius gritted his teeth in frustration at Gregson's constant ineptitude. He wouldn't give him more than cleaning duty if he had the choice.

Finally, the Sunderer edged into the twisting light. There was a blinding flash. His body decomposed into a billion ecstatic atoms. And for a few blissful seconds, everything was forgotten. All became light, and nothingness.

#

The squad remained silent while the warpgate operators greenlighted their Sunderer through one quarantine gate after another. Chemical and electrical washes scalded the exterior to remove extra-continental contaminants.

They stared at the empty space in front of them, mentally recuperating. Marius had only just begun to realise how hard it was to live with only one life to live. Before, in situations like that, what he had just experienced just passed, 98% of the time he would go down fighting to the death. But now, for the sake of everyone he cared about around him and himself, he couldn't do that anymore. He had become so accustomed to easy death and equally easy rebirth that now he had no idea what to do. He was numbed by confusion and fear. Of all the things he had expected to face in the New Conglomerate military, the prospect of _true_ death was not one of them.

The dilemma didn't seem to affect Banks, who was at the window with a gleaming smile on his dark face.

"Guys! There's green, plants! It's warm!"

Suddenly, Marius noticed the scenery around them. Through the red warpgate shimmer, Marius made out the lazy clouds that drifted happily over Amerish. The lowlands bathed in a steady springtime warmth. As he sighted the blooming trees, the sound of birds that he had missed for what felt like years, Marius felt a thin glimmer of happiness. This was like home, the rolling Cyssorian plains where he had grown up before the War swept over its shores.

The wind that lazed through the the broken windscreen was now warm; he was no longer shivering. To the west rose the great Amerishian mountain range, rising thousands of metres into the air, their bare peaks still covered in snow. It was all a stark contrast to the freezing, flat plains of Esamir.

Crackles came from the front cab.

"Hmm - they're calling us out guys." shouted Gregson. With a flick of the switch, the operator sounded over the main speakers.

"Sunderer 043 - report to repair and re-arm dock, then to Tumas assault brigade, bay 13." Came the crackle over the radio.

"Roger that control." Gregson replied.

"Did she say 'Tumas' assault brigade?!" Marius replied incredulously "That's where we're headed. What does she mean? Who decided we should join that?"

"Hmm, I thought you wanted to go to Tumas?" Gregson replied innocently.

"Well yes, but isn't there a more subtle route...?" he tailed off, suddenly suspicious of the unlikely coincidence that a Terran assault brigade was forming almost the very moment they had arrived on Amerish...

But wait. Of course. Tumas, Commander Harrison. Both were connected to Landiss. If the Terrans and Commander Doran worked together to destroy Landiss at Nott Amp Station, of course, they would try to destroy his allies at the same time! They were in desperate danger!

"How big is this brigade?" Marius spluttered, not really expecting the infiltrator to know.

"Hmm nanites, I think we found it..." Gregson said.

The Sunderer pulled around the corner into the wide open plain that bordered the southern warpgate. Marius gasped at the spectacle, the spring heat shimmering over hundreds of glinting. Sunderers in camos and loadouts of what seemed like every outfit in the Republic. Towering Prowler tanks with dual cannons swivelled back and forth like a swarm of giant beetles. In between the vehicles thronged hundreds of soldiers and engineers, filling the air with shouts and the loud crackle of nano repair tools and re-arming trucks.

"Hmm, there must be one hundred tanks here, fifty Sunderers!" Gregson shouted in awe.

Overhead roared a squadron of dozens of Mosquito intercepters and Liberator gunships, coasting in lazy circles.

"Umm Gregson - are we safe here?" Marius murmured quietly, as if the Terrans were listening.

"Hmm yeah, they won't touch us. Control is giving us the red carpet treatment. Hmm, whatever it was he said, Fowler really did good." Gregson turned back from the driver's seat "Hmm, I'm checking the warpgate schedules - there are two groups headed to Amerish. A recon squadron heading off today. Hmm, the main force here will move to assault Tumas tomorrow."

Marius didn't fancy the idea of being surrounded by an entire Terran horde.

"Can you get us on the recon squadron.?

Gregson grinned a thick, pudgy grin.

"Hmm, that's what I thought you wanted. Already on it."

#

Red dots lined the grass in front of the Sunderer; Control directed them through the repair and re-arm stations that bordered the assault staging area. The walls of the Sunderer shimmered bright blue as the repair dock fused together its bent fuselage. The windscreen flowed together from one side of the window structure to another.

Marius' head buzzed with frustration. The New Conglomerate would be massacred by an assault of this size if they go to Tumas, that was for sure. But what could Alpha Squad do?! They were only 7, how could they help? Should they help? Try to sabotage the Terran horde from within? Warn the base, and Commander Harrison in advance? What would Landiss have done?

Vickers was staring at Fowler, who seemed to be cowering, and was pretending he didn't exist in the corner of the truck.

"So what do you know about this army, scrub? Don't think I didn't forget. I bet you know all about this too, huh? What do you know? Gonna tell us what you know?"

Fowler glanced nervously down the length of the truck, then sighed.

"I'm not supposed to say..."

"Yeah well a little late for that now after your stunt. Not like we're gonna be around long to tell anyone." Vickers smiled sardonically, his hands bunched into fists.

Fowler glanced nervously from face to face.

"Wait - you don't really think I'm a - a - traitor, do you?! I - I'm not! Marius knows all about it. Why don't you ask him?!"

Marius stared at him for a few seconds uncomprehendingly. He was wordless, his head spinning. What the hell was Fowler talking about? He had no idea?!

"What?!"

"Hahaha!" Vickers laughed "I knew it Acre. You were lying to us. Fowler and Marius, the two most brainless scrubs in the NC part of a big secret? Hah! I wouldn't trust either of you with driving a Flash! How d'you explain that?!"

Marius shook his head rapidly, the squad glaring at him.

"Wait - I have no idea what Foster is talking about?!"

"Y- yes you do Marius - I mean - sir." Fowler looked at him steadily "The disc. Lieutenant Landiss gave you the disc. Y - you mean, you didn't watch it?!"

A deep pit of realisation opened up in his stomach and his face flushed red. Oh shit. He had. Landiss had given him something just before he left for that final time. HIs personal items had been ejected from flaming suit at the same time as him - he had a vague memory of picking it up. And he hadn't thought of it since. Shit. What a fuck up. In his absolute focus on Landiss' words and the desperate situation that was falling apart around him, he had completely forgotten. Could that disc have saved them at Esamir? Could have it avoided this disastrous trip through the warpgate?

His head sagging with shame, he rifled through his small remaining possessions in his side pack. For a few perilous seconds he panicked that the card had been destroyed along with his MAX suit. He shouted with relief when found the small chip card, and held it up to the group like a trophy. It was small plastic rectangle embossed with minute shining metallic strips.

"Hah!" Banks laughed. "Hell, I ain't never even seen a real chip card, I didn't even know they made them anymore. Is that from Earth? My Granddaddy used to have one of those antiques. Weren't they banned after everything went on the Net?"

While they reminisced, Marius searched fruitlessly around the back of the Sunderer for a place to plug in the ancient device, the glares of five pairs of eyes on the back of his neck.

"Can we implant it somewhere here?" he interrupted.

Gregson nodded "Hmm yes, of course. All Terran Sunderers have a disk drive as a backup. On most, they've been disabled. But to a skilled hacker..." He smiled.

Vickers sniggered loudly, but Gregson ignored him.

Marius passed it along the squad to the infiltrator, and all gazed at the glittering chip as if it was an ancient treasure. Marius expected another fit of incompetence from the infiltrator at any moment. But this time he was disappointed. After a few seconds with the control console, Gregson slotted the chip into the reader, and with a slow whine, the projectors glowed into life above their heads.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Message

Landiss appeared in the centre of the cabin. Marius jumped – the vivid colours and sharp clarity of the hologram made it seem like the Lieutenant was really standing before them. He paced the corridor in between the benches in full formal regalia – Platoon leader's beret, blue and black open cloak, and a chest full of medals.

"Dear Auraxians. I am Lieutenant Stuart Landiss of Esamir 1st Brigade, New Conglomerate..." his voice boomed as if addressing a crowd.

"... If you find this message then I have been captured or de-spawned. No matter. There are many who will fight in my place. I hope that my sacrifice has not been in vain.

"Our lives have been of death and carnage as long as we have known. Few of those who fought at the start of the War remain in service. Back then - I am told - the differences between the Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty were impossible to resolve, and hundreds of years of hatred boiled into war. Rebirthing pushed us into an endless cycle of destruction. For years, the war effort ground onwards until our peoples were exhausted, until the last civilians were delivered into the carnage.

"And now? We are the children and the grand-children of this original conflict. We are taught that the ideology of our faction is the only 'correct' one, and that we must reject all others. For this, we slaughter each other on the battlefield, we die endless deaths. Do you not sometimes wonder why? Despite our sacrifices, the front line does not move. Each year is the same as the next. Is our sacrifice for nothing? Why did no one try to end the madness, before the last city fell, before the last civilian entered the respawn tube?

"The truth is, my friends, more sinister than you can imagine. In fact, there were many failed attempts at peace negotiations by our leaders in the years following the outbreak of the War. Then why did the peace talks fail?

"There is only one party to blame. The Generals.

"The Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty commanders knew for decades that there was no hope of a military victory in the War, once respawn technology was owned by all. But did they assist the peace negotiations, vie for an end to the carnage? No. Instead they conspired to perpetuate the War for their own benefit. They worked in the shadows, concocting military coups that usurped our democratic leaders, conscripting every last free-thinking civilian to the front line, forcing those who refused to labour 18-hour days in war factories with no hope of ever being released, making money from the ores and resources they extract from the ground beneath our boots. The history of this corruption is lost in memories long gone in lives we have already lost. But I assure you that this is true.

"During all the time you gave up life after life for the ideals of your faction, your generals wallowed in cosseted luxury. They live in opulent mansions on distant, untouched islands beyond the 'restricted' zones. The 'massacres' that you hear about to keep your head and rifles hot are merely orchestrated propaganda by the three factions to keep their soldiers loyal and the War fresh in their mind. These massacres did not happen. All fabrications to prolong this torture of the Auraxian people for the benefit of the very few.

"Our sacrifice is a lie. We have all been lied to. And they want you to continue to believe their lies, so that their twisted system can continue onwards for eternity. But despite the gross deception, this is a message for hope. My brothers and sisters, I bring you the message that there **is** liberty, freedom, security, loyalty, technology **all** to fight for, together, but as one people! There are those of us who dream of bringing this War to an end, members of all factions, New Conglomerate, Vanu Sovereignty or Terran Republic.

"We are building a network - the Auraxian Resistance Movement - of soldiers from Private to Commander. When the time comes, we will smash the source of this misery – the command centres that direct this war from 'secret' islands, the respawn facilities and gene banks that extend this horror into perpetuity. Once the tyrants are dead, once life is precious once more, the people of Auraxis will rise up against this corruption and install a **true** representative, democratic government that will ensure that none of this will happen again, and that the War will finally end! Our struggle will require sacrifice, yes - many of our brothers and sisters have already been de-spawned by the tyrants, and have died true death. But we fight on, as the ultimate prize will be worth the loss.

"Peace may sound like a distant dream to you, Auraxians. Many of us cannot conceive of a world with peace. Believe me, this world could be much better than what we endure each day.

"Let us make this dream a reality. Already, there are thousands of us, just like you. Thousands across all factions that, once ready, are waiting for the signal to end this conflict in a matter of days. The process of building and strengthening our network continues, but soon we will strike and wipe this evil off the earth.

"Can you imagine a future, where we are free to have children and families like our ancestors did, a life beyond conscription at 16? Can you imagine peace on Auraxis? Is it worth fighting for? Then fight with us, the Auraxian Resistance Movement.

"And a message for the Generals. Some of us remember now, we have pierced through the memories you implanted in our minds. We remember the truth behind your deception. And through time, through silent infiltration into your 'impenetrable' computer networks, through countless meetings and connections with those who escaped your front lines, with the ever-growing number of sympathisers still fight in your brigades - we are coming together. Coalescing, morphing into an unstoppable movement that will no longer fight your battles for you. We will only fight you. The end is coming for you, sooner than you know."

Landiss flickered into nothingness. The squad sat in shock. Marius couldn't seem to grasp onto those words, fully understand their significance. It was like a wave had pushed him under the water and broke on a distant shore. His heart swelled with pride at the same time as his stomach sank in horror. Landiss' speech, with his strong, rising, voice spoke to something deep with Marius. Deeper than his loyalty to the New Conglomerate.

For the first time, he started to have doubts. Could this message be true? What was he saying? Who were the generals? Was the Conglomerate a lie? Who were the traitors, the heroes in this? He shook his head. His loyalty cracked ever so slightly, and out flowed reams of questions that made his head spin.

"What a crock of traitorous bull..." Vickers grumbled, his head in his hands.

Marius jumped off the bench in surprise and anger.

"What are you talking about, he wouldn't lie? Right?!" He turned to the squad, expecting much more animated approval than he received. They gazed blankly towards the middle of the truck, wordless.

Vickers slowly drew himself up to full height.

"Ain't it clear?" he continued "Workin' together with the Terran Republic and Vanu Sovereignty like happy families. If that ain't the definition of traitor then I ain't NC."

"Wait!" Gregson shouted from the front. "Hmm... there's more. It's encrypted, but not too well. Looks like it was done in a hurry."

Landiss appeared before them once more. He was older, thinner, his hair was frayed, his face was lined with anxiousness.

"Commander Harrison. This is Landiss from Esamir company. I'm still working on Commander Doran at Nott, but it's not looking good so far. Our spies received word that there's a big attack planned on our facilities. Yours included. We don't know exactly when, maybe as soon as next week. It looks like Terran and Vanu assaults on a massive scale.

"I don't know what to say - but I think we've been rumbled. We need to go to plan B, we need to go back underground. The whole Movement could be compromised. I'll send this message with one of my most trusted, I just hope it gets there in time. God speed."

[aesop_chapter label="Decisions" title="Decisions" subtitle="Decisions" bgtype="img"]

Vickers paced impatiently back and forth in between the benches.

"I don't care about this **bullshit**!" Vickers cried "We need to get home, you hear me! This, pointless quest will just get us killed! Ain't it clear? We're de-spawned. If we die, we die! **I can't die here, in this wasteland! I need to get home**, my girl and my baby are waiting.

"I know the NC guys at West Pass Watchtower. If Golden Boy Fowler here is right, then if we sneak off the battle group without gettin' blasted by our new Terran buddies, we can get there - no problems. The boys'll get us a Galaxy home within two hours, Generals or no Generals. I guarantee it. Who's with me?"

He stared around the glowing back of the truck. The squad were silent.

"Come on! Who wants to go home?"

"I'm with you, Ry." Banks raised his hand, glancing at Marius. "Sorry, Marius - I mean - sir. But Vickers is right. We can't help them - this 'Movement' or whatever they are, we can't make a difference for them."

Vickers reached over and held Isla's limp hand "Isla's with me. Don't argue, you know it, it's fair. Three to zero guys, let's wrap this up. Golden boy, what about you?"

Fowler was caught off-guard as all eyes turned to him at the back of the truck. He stumbled over his words.

"I say we - do what's right for the people of Auraxis and - and go to Tumas."

"With such conviction!" Vickers laughed. "Gregson, infiltrator extraordinaire, your verdict."

Gregson stood over the drivers seat, bending it backwards with his weight.

"Hmm, we need to do what's best for the NC. There are hundreds of them at Tumas. We need to warn them. Hmm, they're our people goddamnit!"

"The fat lady has sung!" Vickers laughed, a manic edge to his voice. Gregson scowled.

"Utako Nakano, please, give us some sense and finish this bullshit debate."

Nakano looked at the floor for a few seconds, glanced at Marius, then looked at Vickers confidently.

"We need to end this. We need to end the War, Ryan."

Vickers growled "Ah, the naivete of young love!" Marius' face flushed red. Nakano stood, arms folded "Yeah, I know you're just sayin' that 'cos Marius the 'NC hero' is thinkin' the same."

Nakano gave him an icy stare.

"Bastard." She whispered, barely audible. Vickers waved her off as if she were a fly.

"Yeah, I know. Three all. So be it. Great leader, it is up to you. The fate of six loyal soldiers are willing to sacrifice themselves before your feet. What do you choose?"

Marius felt the heavy eyes of expectation on him. Seconds passed as he wrestled with the two options.

"Marius..." Vickers soft voice sounded completely out of character, he was almost pleading "...Please - this one isn't about glory, it's not about victory for the NC. It's about Isla, it's about Banks, it's about Nakano. Your friends, your buddies, ya know. Get us home. Please."

His fearful eyes begged Marius to comply. His face was quivering slightly. He looked forty years older, suddenly a pathetic shell of the mighty giant he was just seconds before. Marius felt forced to reconsider his thoughts, out of pity for this creature. Why couldn't they follow Vickers' plan, and sneak out of the Terran battlegroup to meet up with his NC buddies at West Pass? They would get a free Galaxy flight out of there and join another outfit as nameless recruits; everyone in the squad would be safe, and hopefully this whole horrible experience - Landiss, Nott Amp Station, Commander Doran and the Movement forgotten. Everyone in Alpha Squad would be safe.

"I -" he started

Gregson butted in.

"Hmm, before you make your decision, I just checked the chip. It seems that Landiss knew it wasn't just this group headed to Tumas tomorrow. A Vanu force is coming from the North West. Hmm, it seems they are fighting together, TR and VS. They must know about the Movement. Marius..." he shook his head "Hmm, we can't let this happen, hundreds of New Conglomerate soldiers will be massacred."

"STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT GREGSON!" Vickers roared

Gregson, despite his wide, barrel-like form, leapt over the drivers seat like a ballerina. He landed without a sound, and within half a second had a pudgy hand just an inch from Vickers' neck. He stopped himself on the cusp of squeezing the very life out of his throat. Gregson's face heaved red, sweat balled on his forehead.

"NOW YOU listen to me, scrub... You know how many whiny bitches like you I've dealt with. Get a hold of yourself and Get In Line. You follow Acre, it's his decision, not yours."

His head snapped to face Marius like a viper.

"Acre, learn to give some discipline for fucks sake. This outfit is a goddamn mess."

Marius gaped at him open-mouthed. It was like a monster had burst out of this once awkward, seemingly incompetent man.

"OK guys... Banks hesitated "Now let's take it down a level, slowly, first your arm maybe, Gregs - sir."

All of a sudden, Gregson glanced around the cabin as if waking from a trance. He breathed out slowly. Vickers stared back at him hatefully. He snapped his left arm to push Gregson away from his neck. Wordlessly, he sat back down on the bench, his hand shaking silently.

"So," he faltered "what's your answer, Acre?"

Marius recollected his thoughts for a second, bowled over by the rapid turn of events. Alpha Squad could save themselves, but they were the only ones who could warn Tumas about this massive attack. Gregson was right. The NC would get massacred if they didn't do anything. This giant conspiracy, the 'Movement'. Marius had no idea of what was real or not. But whatever the facts, hundreds of New Conglomerate lives were on the line.

He realised that he had already made his decision. They would go to Tumas. As soon as they warned the garrison at the tech plant, they'd go home, probably escorted by the evac'ed NC troops themselves. It would be easy, and safe.

He nodded to himself and turned to the squad.

"Whatever the truth is about this 'Auraxian Resistance Movement', we can't let a New Conglomerate base get destroyed without at least trying to warn them; it's our duty as NC to let them know! And we're the only ones who can do it. As soon as we get to Tumas, we'll go straight to Commander Harrison - we can trust him. Landiss told me so! I mean, I know there are things we don't know about him but - He died for us! And - I have to trust him for that. So we go to Tumas, we warn them, get spawn chipped, we'll get out of there within hours to the nearest friendly, safe base. I promise you."

The squad nodded silently, seemingly resigned to their fate. Not even Vickers said a word. He just put his face in his hands, stared down at the floor and remained perfectly still.

In the background, the rumble of engines erupted around the giant courtyard. The Vanguard of the Terran Tumas assault force was moving out.

#

The line of headlights weaved their way through the black, silent mountains. From the heights of the hill passes, the distant shake of artillery rounds resonated across the thick rocks from the plains beyond, small explosions highlighting besieged outposts with momentary flashes. The front line.

"So, you mean, in your eye?!" Banks gasped for the third time.

"Hmm i told you already – yes, nightvision! In my eye!" Gregson sighed "It's standard infiltrator gear. Is it really that amazing?! Now please just let me drive?!"

Marius managed a couple of hours of troubled sleep as his head lolled back and forth on the bench. All of a sudden, the Sunderer slowed to a crawl. Marius sprung up off his bench to take a look at the scene. The column of vehicles halted behind a rocky outcrop in the foothills surrounding their target. Tumas tech station.

The enormous hulk of the building loomed ominously through the weak dawn light. The two towers rose out of the trees over one hundred metres into the air like the bows of a giant, ghostly ship. Lines of cannons peered into the night sky, sweeping the horizon with slow pans of torchlight. A wide, rectangular hangar extended another three hundred metres out of the galley of the vessel, this central monolith housing all of the command and living quarters covered in thick, black pipes that spewed glistening steam into the night air. The whole structure glittered with pale and pulsing red lights in front of the sun that edged above the Eastern hillside.

A crackle came over the radio. The CO, Marius didn't catch his name, called out the orders in a deep, Hossinian drawl.

"Nighthawks, we're hunkering down until the big guns arrive. Keep your head on a swivel. You see any NoCongs movement, anything at all, and you _report in_, no fuckups like that Flash chase on Indar, **got it?!** So keep yo' hands **off** the funny stuff t'night. An' say hello to our special guests from Ghost Corps. Out."

A wave of affirmative grunts that Marius figured served as greetings sounded over the Sunderer speakers. Gregson parked the vehicle at the corner of the tall rock formation. Marius turned to the front cab.

"Hmm, so what's the plan now? We want to get to Tumas, right?" Gregson said.

Marius thought for a few seconds.

"Can we send a warning signal to the base from here?"

"Hmm, no, the convoy have communications on lock down. We'll be rumbled, and slagged, if we try it."

"Nanites! so what do we do?"

There were a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Hmm, well, we could go in on foot." Gregson muttered tentatively.

"No," Marius shook his head "There's no way we can get across that open field. Especially dressed as Terrans."

"Well, why don't we just drive there, full pelt across the field? If we're quick, we'll be there before those dumbass Terrans even see us." Banks pointed out.

Vickers raised his head for the first time since the journey started.

"Nah, no way we should drive there. They'll shoot us to pieces before we get 100m down the road. Gregson's got a good point. We should sneak in. How about we check out the map here, work out a route before it gets too light for us to walk across without being seen."

Marius was astounded that such a constructive comment could come from Vicker's mouth. The man had been silent and brooding for the better part of twelve hours.

"Oh, nice of you to join the team, Vickers," Marius said, sarcastically "OK. How about you show us your idea. It's probably better than what we've got."

Vickers nodded.

"Thanks. Would you be so kind to show us the holo map of the area?" he grinned at Gregson with a strange smile, which seemed to Marius almost as strange as his completely uncharacteristic words.

"Hmm, sure, OK." Gregson said, also puzzled by the look of his face.

The Squad stood in a semi-circle around a blue-green holographic map that illuminated the centre of the truck.

"Hmm, so the way I see it is if we walk -"

Marius caught a flicker out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly, Vickers was holding a Terran repeater pistol. He aimed it squarely in between Gregson's eyes. Marius gasped.

Gregson's left hand shot for his side.

BANG!

The blast reverberated around the truck with a metallic clang. The wall beside Marius was showered in blood and what remained of the back of Gregson's skull. The fat body crashed backwards into the metal side bench.

"**No!**" shouted Banks as Vickers shrugged him off.

BANG!

Vickers fired a second round at Fowler, striking him square in the heart. The medic stumbled for a second, staring at his wet black suit in disbelief, then collapsed to his knees moaning.

In a second, Banks and Nakano wrestled the gun out of Vicker's hands. Marius joined them, pulling the towering man to the ground. He offered little resistance.

"Fuck you, traitor." Was all he offered as he stared at Fowler, spitting at the ground, a devilish smile below his bloodied beard.


	7. Chapter 7 - Open Field

"Vickers! You're insane!" Marius shouted.

He kicked the pistol across the floor as Banks, Nakano and them himself held him down to tie his hands.

"You'll thank me tomorrow scrub." Vickers laughed through gritted teeth "They had it comin'. Grade 1 TR chicken shit traitors."

"Tie him down." Marius clicked his fingers in front of Banks' face, who was locked stock still, staring at Fowler's shivering body.

"No need to fight me," Vickers grinned "Arrest me if you have to."

Fowler released a weak moan.

"Shit!" Vickers he shouted "Will someone finish him off?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you man?" Banks said, shaking his head in disbelief as he bound Vickers' wrists together with some spare wire in the truck storage area.

A crackle came over the radio.

"This is Sergeant Lyle," came the drawl "I just heard gunfire. Which of you chicken shits broke the rules?!" He shouted, seemingly exasperated.

Vickers now secure and silent, Marius turned to Fowler.

"Banks, do you think you could use the med-kit?"

"Yeah, sure man, I had basic training." He nodded, and immediately set to work.

Gregson's body rested heavily, blood-splattered on the wall, his head dripping red onto the floor. His eyes gazed lifelessly at him, a colourless grimace. Marius gagged, covered his mouth with sudden nausea. He had encountered death many times of course, but he rarely had to face smiling, ghoulish horrors that dripped in blood and gristle less than two metres from him. He staggered to the front cab of the Sunderer.

Nakano was now in the drivers seat, leaning back with her hands over her eyes, breathing heavily, seemingly trying to ignore the horror behind her, and the urge to vomit. But she was the only qualified Sunderer driver left.

"Naka..." Marius spoke softly "We need you now. Could you drive us to the base, as quick as possible?"

She nodded, closed her eyes for a second, and clambered gingerly to the driving seat.

"Sure, I can do it." She whispered stoically, with an air of renewed confidence. Naka could always be relied upon in a tight spot.

The Sunderer roared into life. Almost immediately, the radio crackled clearly once again.

"Sundie 043, respond NOW! We detect engine activity. Direct orders - turn off the damn truck this second and get in line."

Nakano shot into second gear, narrowly avoiding a squad of Terran heavies who were out smoking in the crisp morning air. They shouted in alarm as the truck accelerated past.

"Nighthawks, Sunderer 043 is rogue." Came a panicked cry over the radio "Repeat! It's rogue! Don't let it get away! Open fire, blow it to hell, dammit!"

The Sunderer swerved around a large rock formation, throwing Marius into the wall. Behind them dozens of horns and engines fired into life. The Tumas plain opened up before them. Warm orange light burned through the early morning mist to bathe the base in an ominous, dancing flame. The Sunderer was heading straight for it, less than a kilometre away. It bounced over the small rocks and mounds that peppered the rough grassland, throwing Alpha squad from side to side. Vickers, arms and legs bound, rolled uselessly along on the metal floor.

"You gonna let me fight, Acre?" He growled in frustration "Better than lettin' me lie down here doin' nothin'."

"Shut up Vickers," Marius exploded with unrepressed rage "I'll have you court martialed before I let you go."

Vickers laughed and spat on the floor.

"Ungrateful bastard."

Before he could riposte, a blast rocked the truck, making Marius jump in panic.

"Banks, if he's sealed up, forget Fowler for now, get up in the front turret!" Marius shouted.

"Yessir!" he replied. He dropped the med-gun and left the young medic lying on the floor, alive but still bleeding from a roughly-sealed wound. He scrambled up the front ladder to the front M20 turret.

"Marius!" Naka shouted from the driver's seat. "I don't think we're gonna make it. The Harassers - they're too fast!"

"I'll get on it!" Marius shouted at the top of his voice above the straining engine "Banks! Take out those buggies!"

Marius jumped up onto the second ladder and into the gunnery port. He had a 360° view of the morning light drifting lazily over the plain. Behind them on both sides, three Harassers were gaining on the truck, their light frames bounding over the field. In front of Alpha Squad stood a mound of boulders, several small stones resting on a five metre-tall giant brown rock. And behind it, a copse of thick trees. The perfect cover for a retreating Sunderer.

A missile roared past the turret, missing by metres, showering the viewport in dust and ash.

"Just get us to that rock formation, Naka." Marius shouted into his headset over the tumult. "The NC will see us and come to get us, no doubt. Their turrets will blow the Terrans apart!"

As if on cue, the base turrets sprang into life, aiming directly at and behind the Sunderer on the field below. Marius could see them tracking the movement of predator and prey for a few seconds, before thumping the air with bright flashes and the shake of heavy rounds that pounded the soil less than 200m in front of the speeding Sunderer.

"Oh shit," Marius cursed his own short-sightnedness "they think we're Terrans too!"

Another Harasser missile swung past the side of the truck. Banks started to open fire, puncturing the hull of the lead buggy with 20mm rounds. It veered left and right to avoid the barrage.

Marius swivelled in his seat and lined up the crosshair on the same vehicle. The mottled grey and green camo was smashed by a barrage of machine gun rounds. The driver swerved out of the path of the fire, but not soon enough to avoid the bullets crunching through the front left wheel, sending it skidding horizontally to a halt in a plume of dust.

BOOM!

The explosion threw Marius from his seat. The Sunderer seemed to skid, and slow down almost to a halt. The gunnery pod filled with thick smoke. His sights now useless, Marius leapt down the ladder, coughing as tears filled his eyes. A gaping hole greeted him where the left side of the back door had been blown clear away. The chasing wolf pack were clearly visible through the smouldering embers. Straining his shaken body, Marius dragged Fowler, Isla and Vickers clear away from the exit as far as he could manage as the truck swayed from side to side.

"Let me go, kid!" Vickers cried, still prostrate on the floor "Let me fight!"

Marius ignored him and scrambled to pick up a Terran carbine from the floor. He took aim through the back door, cursing as he wiped away the blood dripping into his eyes. The Prowler tanks were catching up.

"Prowlers Naka! Their coming! We need to go faster!" he panted over the screaming engine.

Marius staggered to the front. Nakano's knuckles were white on the wheel.

"We can't!" she cried.

"OK," his mind whirred "Get behind that rock there and through the trees - there's cover until the base."

"I'll try!" She gasped as yet another missile swooped past the windscreen.

"We can make it Naka, air support is here." He put a shaking hand on her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her. "See?"

Ahead of them a trio of Reavers closed on the mass of Terran vehicles. Machine gun fire pattered over the roof of the Sunderer.

"They're attacking us too!" Naka shouted in panic.

"Just get us to the rock! We'll be fine - trust me."

His optimism sounded hollow, even to him. He ran back to the back door just in time to see the heavy machine guns tear through the windscreen of another Harasser, the driver replaced by a splatter of blood on the windscreen.

BANG!

The truck lurched to the side as the thunder clap broke. The Sunderer screeched, he turned to the front just in time to see the windscreen smash and the front of the cab fill with smoke. Nakano desperately swung the wheel and the world turned upside down. Marius felt himself falling and he slammed into the metal, equipment and bodies falling all around him.

SCREEECH!

Finally, they were stopped. Marius spluttered for a second in amongst the dust and smoke. He found himself lying on the roof. Disoriented, his head was spinning in the darkness. But the roar of Prowler engines outside knocked him to his senses almost immediately. He jumped to his feet. Nakano was struggling to unlatch herself from her seatbelt, hanging upside down a metre above Marius' head.

"I'll - I'll catch you!" Marius wheezed, still winded from the blow.

"You'd better!" her voice echoed through the truck. She swung gracefully a full 180° to end the right way up, each arm gripping one side of the seat belt. She released her grip and dropped downwards, clattering into Marius, who fell backwards into the wall. Nakano, rapidly regaining her footing, offered him her hand.

"Not helpful!" Turning, she gave him a faint smirk, brushing back her shoulder-length black hair. Blushing, Marius retrieved his carbine.

Machine gun fire strafed the bottom carriage of the upturned truck. Making them both duck. Nakano stared at him with an air of expectation.

"So, Marius. What now?!"

Dazed and likely concussed, he found himself tongue-tied and out of ideas.

An explosion sounded nearby, and the chassis echoed with bouncing earth and shrapnel. Then he noticed something bright in amongst the scattered belongings and weaponry littering the crushed roof. Lying perfectly flat as if purposefully placed, his old, battered yellow and blue New Conglomerate flag. It must have fallen from his MAX personal storage container where he had hidden it days before. Nakano stared at it in disbelief, then at him.

"You carried that stupid flag to the Terran warpgate?!"

He winced sheepishly. Marius had carried that flag with him across three continents. He knew it was stupid, but it was perhaps his last symbol of loyalty to the NC cause... But to carry it into the Terran warpgate.

"Yeah, that was pretty dumb," he admitted.

Suddenly, he had a crazy idea. There was still one, small hope. He snatched up the battered flag and made his way to the smashed windscreen.

"If the NC Reavers can see this flag, maybe they'll realise we're not Terrans. It's the only way. Stay here."

Nakano tugged on his sleeve.

"Don't think you're going out there without me." She stared at him expectantly, her big, brown yet stern eyes giving no room for argument. Hoisting two rifles to her shoulder, she began to follow him through the broken glass on her hands and knees.

Marius shook his head.

"No, you'll be safer here."

Nakano laughed mockingly at his pathetic attempt at chivalry. He felt his face reddening.

"Shut up Marius, I'm not a kid. Besides, you're useless without me!"

She was probably right.

"Get up here!" Marius pulled Nakano up to a nearby rock, halfway up the huge boulder formation. They lay prone, watching for their opportunity.

The early morning sun bled down on the pockmarked field. The whoosh of a Reaver engine bounced back and forth as it duelled with the two remaining Harassers. The base turrets still pounded ineffectually, their ordnance landing fifty metres too short of their crippled truck. A line of four Prowlers fired round after round into the boulders shielding the Sunderer from the coup de grace, making the earth shake with regular shudders, lighting up the dawn sky with bright flashes just 20 metres away from them. Less than one hundred metres away, a Terran Sunderer was deploying, with light and heavy assault troops spilling out of every side. Aiming their rifles up at the rock formation, they started jogging towards their position. Marius figured they surely had thirty seconds they would be completely surrounded.

The TAK TAK of heavy machine gun fire raked the rocks. They had already been spotted.

"They can see us! Get down!"

An NC Reaver, taking a few hits from machine gun fire, let off a few more shrieking rockets to towards the buggies that weaved across the plain. The fighter disengaged, circling back around to face the rock formation on which Marius and Nakano lay. Suddenly, it spotted the paralysed Sunderer laying upside down in the dust. It stopped, buzzing the rock as if curious, circling the wreckage.

"OK, now!" Marius shouted.

The two of them scrabbled up to the top of the tallest boulder, perhaps five metres above the ground. Without pausing for thought, Marius leapt up, throwing the New Conglomerate flag above his head, Nakano beside him, also waving her hands in desperation. Bullets whizzed closer and closer to his head, Nakano grabbed his hand like a vice. Marius heard the Prowler turrets aiming upwards...

The Reaver twitched between the two exposed targets, as if confused which one to consume first. The bright blue and yellow symbol of the New Conglomerate fluttered in the cold morning air. Finally, the Reaver banked to the side, seemed to nod in recognition, and then twisted to face the Prowler column. A salvo of missiles forced the tanks to break their assault path, and instead they turned their machine guns to the sky to in a desperate attempt to deter this aerial threat. The Reaver fired its afterburners and swooped high into the air.

"Did it work?!" Nakano shouted, tearing Marius back down to the ground next to her.

"I don't know." Marius peered through the rifle scope to the base. His heart sank as the shadowy silence of the New Conglomerate base continued.

"No!" Nakano cried, seemingly in desperation "They must have seen us?! Why don't they do anything?!"

Tears welled up in his eyes. A Prowler shell smacked dully into the other side of the rock, he grabbed onto the boulder with sweating palms in desperation. He turned to look at Nakano's petrified face, cut and bruised in several places.

"Naka, in case we... don't make it out of here, I just want to say -"

"Look! The gates!" she cried, ignoring him completely and pointing excitedly at the base.

The blue gates of the tech plant shuddered. Several large silhouettes strobed through the bright light. A line of five Vanguard tanks rumbled straight towards the boulder. Turning their gleaming turrets to face the quartet of Prowlers, they simultaneously opened fire.

Bright white orbs streaked from the base. The shells slammed into the earth in front of the Prowlers. Smoke piled up next to them, their turrets grinding noisily to face this new threat. With pounding thuds, they blasted shells in return. Their shells screeched through the air, casting smoking arcs in the sky. Just before impact, the NC Vanguards activated their shielding as one unit, the blasts bouncing off the shimmering blue protection harmlessly like stones skipping over water. As their barrage continued to strike the Vanguards to little effect, the brown and green Prowler column realised that had only seconds to save their own lives, ground to a complete halt, and soon began a messy retreat, their drivers in disarray as they desperately swerved in all directions to avoid crashing into one another.

"They're coming for us! They're saving us!" Nakano shrieked in delight. Marius' heart jumped as she threw her arms around his shoulders.

The Vanguard shells continued to rain down upon the reversing convoy. One Prowler lost both cannons in a loud CRASH and SNAP. A second collapsed outwards in a thunderclap of metal plating and flames. The remaining battered vehicles reversed full speed in desperation, backing around the corner of a steep hill that Alpha squad had rounded just minutes before. The air filled with the smell of burning metal and the rumbling of Vanguard tracks. The last Terran Sunderer was left stranded in the middle of the field as shells fell down upon it. The few Terran soldiers who had the misfortune to respawn in the middle of this hellish crossfire were obliterated in a final massive explosion that doused Marius and Nakano in a wave of intense heat.

Marius lay on top of the giant boulder, his chest shaking as the final Harasser sped around the corner. The two of them panted immobile for what seemed like eternity, grasping onto the top of the rock as if it was the only thing holding them in place. When they finally raised their head again the five Vanguards had surrounded the felled Sunderer in a protective circle. His hands shaking, he hurled his Terran rifle off the rocks. Marius and Nakano, hand in hand, wept softly amongst the drifting smoke.

#

Fowler was still alive, but critical. Vickers and Banks had both been knocked out by the Sunderer's barrel roll. Isla, on the other hand, had been knocked into wakefulness, tears streaming down her face as the Tumas Vanguard tank crews carried her out, her matted hair and pale arms red.

A few NC technicians had arrived on maintenance Flashes to commence the grim work of cleaning the wreckage. The whole inside of the truck was covered in blood. Gregson's body lay on its side on the upturned roof, a horrible snarl gripping his grey face.

"Now it ain't none of my business ta go questionin' your business." Came the gruff voice of the tank commander as members of Tumas armoured brigade hauled Gregson's limp body from the wreckage.

"But whatever the hell was goin' on in this truck, yer gonna hafta 'splain it back at base. For now, I'll believe that this big guy was Terran."

"He did it." Marius pointed at Vickers, his hand shaking with anger. He was also unconscious, his head lolling under the strained grip of four strong tank crewmen "Don't let him out of your sight. He's lost it. He's insane."

The tanker offered a hand to Nakano from the top of the tank. She barely glanced at him as she noiselessly leapt onto the hull. Marius staggered a few steps behind, struggling to haul himself up the sharp step. The gruff, broad tanker hauled him up by the cuff of his neck.

"Thanks," Marius stuttered, embarrassed. "We need to see Commander Harrison immediately. We have an urgent message from Lieutenant Landiss at Nott Amp Station, Esamir."

The tanker shrugged.

"Alright, I'll call it in. What's the message?"

"It's classified," Marius said, "we need to see him in person. Now."


	8. Chapter 8 - Orphans

The last hour had been a blur. Stumbling into the vehicle bay, Alpha squad were immediately split up. Marius, still dazed and shaking from the deafening thumps of the artillery rounds, was immediately dragged off to this distant room for a 'quick chat'. Surrounded by armed guards, a young, officious sergeant had point blank refused his request to see Harrison. Instead he demanded that Marius immediately recount everything that had happened to him since this whole crazy episode had begun at Nott Amp Station.

Now, the officer before him typed Marius' words into the holopad as rapidly as they spilled from his mouth. But the Sergeant didn't seem to care, only looking up to check the time in his perfectly-ironed shirt and with his finely-combed and gelled blond hair. Marius was quietly enraged by his treatment, his uniform still covered in grime and smoke in comparison to this gleaming example ahead of him. His hands still shook uncontrollably following the panic of less than one hour before.

The tapping on the keypad suddenly stopped. The sergeant, 'Linas', he strained to remember, looked at him intently.

"And then what would he say?"

Marius took a deep breath, his blackened fingertips tapping nervously at the cup of cold coffee in front of him.

"Then he said... 8A42VD90."

The scribe's expression immediately changed to that of shock, then horror.

"What?!"

"8A42VD90." Marius repeated impassively.

"Wh - where did you get that from?!" Sergeant Linas' quivering hand leapt for the comm pad on the cold table in front of him.

"Private Fowler. The medic. He's part of the Movement. But you know that, right?"

The white coffee cup in the young officer's hand wavered, and he gulped deeply.

"Stay there one moment, Lieutenant." He shot up, striding past the table and rapidly out of the door, leaving Marius alone with two armed guards peering suspiciously at him through the window.

He drummed his fingers nervously in the silence. Suddenly, he realised that saying the code could have been a dumb move. Marius had no idea what that code even meant. Was it really a secret Auraxian Resistance Movement code? Or something more dangerous? Access codes? A spawn chip code? A Terran code even?! Oh God - what if Vickers had been completely right to shoot him, and that Fowler was actually a Terran spy? What if Marius had just dug a hole for himself?! He didn't have long to stew in doubt, as soon the door burst open. Linas looked flustered as he patted his straying comb-over back into place.

"OK Lieutenant. Please follow me." He motioned for him to stand up, nodding nervously at the guards outside. The Sergeant almost tripped over himself in his rush to the far wall, pulled on a small book rest on the top shelf of his office. With a 'whoosh', the wall itself opened, the bookshelf scraped from side to side, and a second door opened up the back wall, making Marius jump.

"This way." The sergeant beckoned him urgently.

As he approached, the door opened out a thin, dimly-lit passageway. Marius would have been impressed on any other day, but shaken from the battle, he was pretty much drained of all emotion. The Sergeant sidled through, then paced noisily down metallic corridors into a hidden service corridor parallel to the broad, well lit aisles of the main base. His speed was relentless; Marius with his limp struggled to keep pace.

At least there were no extra guards for him, no threatening words. If he was in trouble, Marius thought, he obviously wasn't considered to be dangerous.

Relaxing a little, he flicked his gaze back and forth between the doors and the occasional hurried soldier in standard NC uniform. A few porthole windows gave Marius flickers of view into sparsely-furnished offices, almost-bare storerooms and monolithic computer servers. Open wiring was stapled lazily along the bare ceilings and walls. Something about the whole area felt out of place. The uniforms didn't seem to quite fit, the officer's glances were skittish, as if trying to pretend they weren't there. This wasn't the typical well-stocked and bustling NC forward base.

"Where are we?" Marius ventured, his voice echoing off the close metal panelling of the thin corridor.

"This is ARM control, Marius." The Sergeant turned back briefly from his loping stride "It's not quite as professional as we'd like it to be, but it does the job."

The sergeant halted at a secure door with a thin slit for a window. A grim-faced guardsman gave him a nod.

"Here we are," Linas said "this is Commander Harrison's office. Good luck."

Linas tapped at a keypad with his four fingers. His fingers rested for a couple more seconds, and a green light flickered into life. He stood aside and smiled curtly as the heavy door shuddered open.

"Thanks." Marius nodded, and took a tentative step into the room.

[aesop_chapter label="Meeting" title="Meeting" subtitle="Meeting" bgtype="img"]

"Lieutenant Acre, what a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Came the clipped, upper-class Indarian accent of the woman sitting at the desk. She stood up, dressed in smart officer's blouse and jacket. Her brown hair wrapped tightly in a bun, she walked over to him as rigidly as a robot. She was a small, slight woman, barely reaching to Marius' shoulders, but her handshake crushed his hand almost to the point of making him wince.

She cocked her head at Marius' confused expression. He wasn't expecting her to be a woman...

"Ah yes, he told you I was a man, didn't he?" She laughed, as if reading his thoughts, "Landiss always did have a strange sense of humour..."

She tutted to herself and sighed.

"Anyway, no matter. That's beside the point. You and your squad have saved lives, Marius. We had a meeting with several of our top commanders this very evening; the Terran and Vanu assault was timed perfectly to decapitated the entire Movement. Obviously the Generals had planned this very carefully.

"But because of your bravery, the evacuation is already beginning, our defensive units are already on their way to hold back the VS and TR assault at the choke points. We have plenty of time for all of ARM personnel at Tumas to be redeployed. On behalf of the Movement, I cannot thank you enough."

She turned and walked back to the desk. She pointed expectantly at the small, hard chair opposite her own padded lean-back. Marius winced as his settled his bruised and battered body in place. She paid no attention to his discomfort.

"But Marius, enough pleasantries. You have access to the second-level network code, 8A42... nevermind. I am concerned that Landiss gave this to you before he - disappeared. That is simply not protocol. What else did he -"

"It wasn't him who told me." Marius interrupted

"Sorry?" she blinked rapidly in surprise.

"It was Fowler, the medic. Like I already told..." He clicked his fingers in frustration "Sergeant..."

"Linas." She muttered seemingly without thought, "The medic, you say?" She looked distantly towards the ceiling, thinking to herself.

She glanced down at a holopad on her desk, then looked up at him, confused.

"...I had a look for this young man, this 'Fowler'. There is no record of him either - not in the training records or even the Nott garrison manifests."

She paused for a second, then pressed a buzzer on her desk. After a few seconds, a hurried voice came over the intercom.

"Med bay here. How can I help Sir?"

"Blakely, I need you to buzz me the minute that the medic wakes up. The one who just came in. And I mean the second, OK?"

"Yes sir," Came the crackle over the intercom. "but it's touch and go. He's too weak even to be respawn chipped, but we'll do our best."

"Very well." The intercom clicked off.

Marius felt a churning in his stomach out of concern and worry about the young private, barely old enough to be called a man. Surely he wasn't capable of lying to his entire squad, of treachery?!

"Sir, do you think that Fowler was a spy?" he said.

"I don't know that yet. But to have the access code to our internal networks... Landis would **never** give that away. I just don't believe it's possible..."

"So," Marius was questioning himself as much as Harrison "maybe Vickers was right after all to shoot him?"

"Hah!" She gave a shrill laugh, "That Sergeant of yours murdered one, possibly two squad members without due cause. You were perfectly correct to send him to the brig, regardless of whether they're spies or not. We'll make sure he's punished. Don't worry about that."

She gave him an icy smile. He had an uneasy feeling what this punishment would entail. He recalled that terrible moment once again... Gregson's head blown to smithereens to the back of the truck. Fowler bleeding everywhere, on his knees. But if Vickers wasn't crazy - what if he was right and he had done it to save them? As if he hadn't been through enough already; because of Marius he would never see his girlfriend and child again. If they ever existed at all... Marius thought.

Wait - the memories? Landiss said that the memories may not be real?

"So is it true, everything Landiss said?" Marius asked tentatively.

She chuckled and nodded, glancing at a couple of young officers jogging along the corridor outside.

"Well yes, as you can see, the Movement is alive and well."

Marius shook his head.

"Sorry, sir, I meant about the memories. Our past. Landiss said they were... fake, implanted. Is it true?"

She looked up at Marius and sighed, before sighing and taking another swig from her coffee cup.

"I really wish Landiss wouldn't give _**everything**_ away in the recruitment video. This 'full honesty' policy and all that bollocks. It just complicates everything..." She finished by muttering to herself.

"Vickers says," Marius pursued the point "no, he's **sure** he has a girlfriend and baby waiting for him back at home. He'd swear on his mother's life that it was real, surely that can't be a lie?!"

She smiled broadly.

"Ahh - the old 'expectant wife and child' trick."

"What do you mean, a trick?"

She mumbled as if he wasn't there anymore.

"Forty years ago they ended that particular lie. So that means your Sergeant Vickers - he's one of the early generations of soldiers. One of the first. No surprise he lost it. According to regulations, he shouldn't be in the forces any more, let alone the front lines..."

"Do you mean it was all made up?" Marius' insisted, frustrated by her lack of clarity.

"Memory number eleven. The spouse and child story was one of the earlier mind implants that the Generals tried on us. Unfortunately with a high failure rate. With memories of such close connections - soldiers normally didn't last more than a couple of decades on the line. They went mad, trying to reach their non-existent family. Many sad stories etcetera..." She shrugged, disinterested, as if she'd explained it a thousand times before.

Marius shook his head in disbelief as the meaning dawned on him. Vickers had been fighting for 40 years?! His girlfriend and child that he was so sure to come back to - they didn't even exist?

"So, is it the same for everyone?" he ventured.

"Almost." She grinned mischievously, then began to examine him with a keen eye.

"Now you, you look like a young one - not too many wrinkles, eyes not quite fully dilated yet. I reckon you're at least memory number forty."

"What do you mean?"

She scarcely listened to his question.

"Tell me the last memory of your home."

"Sir?" He blurted with disbelief. From somewhere, rage welled up within him. This was too much, insubordination be damned.

"Why?"

"Lieutenant," she stared at him disapprovingly "do you want to know if it's the same for you or not?!"

The anger was still there, but his will to know more eventually won out.

He thought back. Marius strained to recall anything before his shipment to the line, almost two years before. Nameless faces drifted before him from boot camp, distant memories of horrific respawn and endurance training made him flinch still today. Then he caught memories of before that, those badly stitched wounds that still bled free during his nightmares.

His parents were kneeling down in the corn field, their hands bound behind their back. The whole village were lined up. His throat caught as the moment because ever more vivid. He felt the bark of the tree, the horrifying stillness.

"A field, on Cyssor."

She drew her elbows closer on the table, smiling intently.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the trees, looking out." Marius' hands clenched instinctively, his teeth bared.

He recalled the line of Terran soldiers held out their guns to the kneeling line. One of them shouted; the air filled with the cacophony of thirty rapid-fire carbines. The young Marius shrieked, his brother hauled him away into the black forest behind them. He opened his eyes.

"Ahah," Commander Harrison gave him a knowing nod and a satisfied smile, making him nauseous "number 54."

"What do you mean?!" Marius, stared at her, bewildered, all rank protocol forgotten.

She continued, smiling as if this was all a joke.

"Memory number 54. The class of 78."

Marius gaped at her open mouthed. He had fought two years on the front line. It was 2893. What the hell was she trying to say, 15 years?! She glanced impatiently at a floating clock on the data screen at the far wall.

"We have time. Let me show you. Come with me."

She paced out of the door wordlessly. Marching down the echoing blue metal corridors, Marius limped after as best he could, his head pounding, his feet seeming to float above the ground.

#

"Sir, where are we going?!" Marius laboured.

They had wandered through the warren of tight passageways for what seemed like several minutes. The clop-clop of her short heels pounded his battered eardrums like gunfire, making his head ache. By the time they stopped, he was exhausted.

"Here." She pointed through a door window at a room full of tall, gleaming nano-computers.

She pressed her hand agains the ID pad. The door opened. Inside, a pair of young men were strapped into two holodocs, translucent orange visors over their eyes, manipulating shapes and symbols hanging in mid air with thin, long fingers. On hearing the door open, they leapt from their chairs as if they knew who was coming, saluting eagerly at Marius and the commander.

"Sir. Sir." The tallest nodded at them in turn. He sported a tight bun of dreadlocks and a loose, tie-dyed shirt. Marius was disgusted by his appearance, and his... smell.

"At ease, boys." Harrison said "How's the analysis coming along?"

"A few more hours yet." Said the shorter of the two. "How can we help?"

Marius spotted the circular symbol on his arm as he stood. The three-pronged green and purple flower of the Vanu Sovereignty. His fists clenched automatically and his teeth set heavy, tight against one another. Seeing his reaction, they recoiled.

"Woah there..." the tallest shot Harrison a concerned look "He hasn't been through re-ed?!"

Harrison placed a cold hand on Marius' shoulder, making him flinch.

"There wasn't time." She muttered, then turned to face him.

"Lieutenant Acre. Yes, you can see these men are originally from the Vanu Sovereignty, here, they're with us. They are ARM. No matter your previous loyalty to your faction, we are all on the same side now."

Marius' muscles remained tense despite her words. He couldn't take his eyes off those symbols, or forget dozens of bloody battles against this vicious foe. Still, he managed to say nothing. Slowly dropping their suspicious glances, they turned their attention back to the holodecks.

"Sorry boys." Harrison restarted "Now, could you play number 54 for me..."

In front of Marius' eyes replayed the images that had passed through his mind so many times . But something was different - the villagers were faceless, the soldiers wore plain, grey uniforms. The villagers lined up on the ground, kneeling. The soldiers, with no distinctive markings, standing with rifles raised. Then, the terrible shots rang clear. Marius felt them shudder through his heart as if he was standing there once more. He felt the urge to run, to cry as the line of civilians fell as one, and the view was torn away and the camera turned hurriedly into the forest, just as his brother had done years before. Or who he thought was his brother...

When Marius finally tore his eyes from the screen, Commander Harrison smiled with what seemed like smug satisfaction.

"You see?"

Marius shook his head in disbelief.

"How did you get that?!" he snapped, suddenly feeling very alone and afraid.

"It's a generic memory for use by all three factions, made by Nanite Systems approximately 16 standard years ago" she said.

"And it's one of their best." The dreadlocked tech shouted from inside his visor "The details, the definition - that's thousands of hours work by their finest engineers. Almost like reality. Incredible. Beautiful."

Marius was barely listening anymore. He felt faint. He steadied himself on the side of the console, trying desperately to retain his composure as everything he knew fell apart.

"In a way you're lucky," Harrison said "You're one of the later ones. This memory was only created by the Conglomerate generals perhaps fifteen years ago. You're one of the last civilians taken into the war. You would have had a full childhood before that. Probably only conscripted at 18."

A hollow benefit, he thought through shallow breaths.

She patted him mock-affectionately on his shoulder once again. It felt like a cold slap to his tensed, shaking muscles.

"So... All that... All my past... A lie? This symbol around my neck, my family - they never existed ?!" He blurted out in shocked realisation.

"You have a history, Marius. We all do. Written down somewhere. Somewhere still in our heads, but lost, disconnected by the Generals so that they could force in their own purpose into our minds. They filed away our original memories in a storage facility somewhere, gathering dust..."

She sighed, staring at the matrix of gently floating holo memory files that littered the room in between them.

"We still don't know where. Another one of the Generals' mysteries. It doesn't matter anyway. Even if we found the memories, if we somehow found out about our real past - what hope do we have of finding our family, our friends now? Everyone is in the War... Your brothers, sisters, mother and father. All committed to the front line or to servitude in the munitions factories. You wouldn't even recognise them, they're wiped away from your mind. And how changed would they be, how little would they remember?"

Marius wasn't convinced. Surely if everyone knew, if they could just see for themselves what he'd just seen, then they'd turn against the generals in a heartbeat?

"It doesn't matter, we need to let them know!" Marius said, quietly.

She shrugged.

"Believe me, we've tried, but most refuse to believe us. Worse, many turn on us, accuse us of lying and betrayal, even attack us. I'm surprised you've taken it so well. That's rare.

"No, our priority now is the Generals. We need to take them down, throw them from power. Persuasion will come later."

Marius just stood there - he felt hollow, empty. No history, and no future.

"So... if our past isn't real. If my memories aren't real. What about my name? Do we even have names? This symbol... it's a family heirloom. Surely that must be connected to something real?!" Marius looked up sullenly, as he held aloft the small, metal cross around his neck that had been his companion for these two - no, was it 15 years?!

Harrison shook her head.

"Marius - we just don't know yet. All we have for sure is in front of you here. You have a memory and a number. That's all. "

No words came to Marius' mouth. He could only stare, lost.

"Cheer up Acre." She smiled thinly "We're all orphans here. But we're all family. You're not alone."

Suddenly, a buzzer rumbled in her pocket. Seemingly cheered by the distraction, she pulled out the comm pad and placed it on her ear.

"Yes?"

After a few seconds, she nodded and closed the call. She turned to Marius, suddenly grim-faced.

"It's the med bay. Your medic's awake. Let's go."

[aesop_chapter label="Med bay" title="Med bay" subtitle="Med bay" bgtype="img"]

They pretty much ran to the med bay. Marius' leg screamed at his persistent over-exertion, bringing tears to his eyes. But he made it.

At the med bay, several technicians were rushing back and forth, stripping drawers and cupboards of everything of value. Marius and Commander Harrison sidled past the scrum to see Blakely, standing next to an empty respawn tube, scratching his head. He was a short, heavy-set man with flat black hair, equipped in dirty white overalls and grimy green gloves.

"Commander," he nodded as he spotted them "Lieutenant."

Marius nodded back. Blakely brusquely turned to Harrison.

"Sir, we just lost him."

"Nanites" She threw her hands down in frustration.

Marius' head dropped miserably. Fowler was dead. Six that had died under his command in just two days. Gone forever. Despite knowing what he knew now about Fowler, he still had a soft spot for the nervous, young rookie. Surely - Marius insisted to himself - he must have been forced to do whatever betrayal he had been tasked with...

Blakely continued.

"We tried to respawn chip him before he went under, but he was too weak to take the medical applicator. But he did leave one final message. For you."

He nodded at Marius.

"For me?!" He jumped in surprise "What did he say?"

"It was simple." He cleared his throat "'Gregson is an enforcer, respawned. He's here. Now. I'm sorry Marius.'"

Marius' mouth turned dry. So it was true. Gregson was a Terran spy. And he was in the base. He gave Harrison the most steady, commanding gaze he could muster, the shaking and nausea momentarily evaporating.

"Sir, we need to get everyone out of this base. Now."


	9. Chapter 9 - Generator

Harrison and Blakely turned to him, surprised.

"What do you mean, Acre? Who's Gregson?" Harrison said.

"Gregson, the second man that Vickers killed. He's not what he seems... Nanites −"

The realisation hit him like a thunderbolt. Harrison looked at him disapprovingly.

"Sorry sir. He's some sort of elite Terran spy. An enforcer. And now he's respawned here, in this base. We need to take him out! You'll need everyone you can get."

Harrison nodded.

"OK, I'll get a squad on it."

As she calmly read out instructions to Epsilon squad over the base comms, Marius felt increasingly nervous, his aching muscles twitching more and more. Had Gregson planned this all along? Had he planned to piggy back onto the remainder of Marius' panicking, effectively leaderless squad, and then lead them to Tumas where he could infiltrate easily under the guise of a fleeing NC refugee? If he was really that good, and if he was really an Enforcer, surely he was much more dangerous than Harrison expected?

"Sir, with all due respect." He said "One squad won't be enough. We need everyone to search for him... You have to get your commanders out, now. Nobody is safe."

Harrison looked back at him sternly "Relax Acre. I decide what is and isn't enough. The commanders are safely being redeployed as we speak."

Marius, stung by her casual attitude, gritted his teeth in frustration, continuing despite his growing insubordination.

"And are they being guarded? I'm not sure you realise who you're dealing with here."

She nodded slowly, then sighed as if bored "Acre, enough. You may be a guest today, but you will respect the chain of command."

He lowered his head, embarrassed.

"Do you have any idea how many spies we deal with every month?" she continued "I'll send more guards down there, I'll go make sure they're aware of it. You know what he looks like, right?"

"Yes, short, wide, ugly. But who knows after the respawn. He could look like anyone."

She laughed, and her iron gaze relaxed slightly. She handed him a comm pad.

"Epsilon are trained specifically to hunt down infiltrators. They're our best. And we have 300 professional soldiers here, all sorts of warning and emergency quarantine systems..."

Harrison smiled curtly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a base to evacuate. To be honest, I don't know where to put you and your squad. Just help with packing up the facility any way you can. Any questions, Blakely will be able to answer them, I'm sure. Anything else?"

"Nothing..." Marius looked at her wearily "I'll get my squad together."

She raised her hand.

"Very well. We at least three hours before our defensive units pull back. The good news is, so far both the Terran Republic and Vanu Sovereignty are tied up at the forward checkpoints. We have more than enough time to pull out."

Two burly bodyguards walked along the corridor towards them, and nodded at Harrison.

"Good luck Acre." She smiled grimly "See you at the redeploy point."

#

Harrison paced officiously around the corner, accompanied by the two heavy assault bodyguards. Marius watched them leave and sighed.

The medic had given Marius a quick once-over with the med-gun, then had released Isla into his supervision, muttering that he was 'needed elsewhere'. Marius suspected that really meant he was getting the hell away from the base. Like they should be doing right now. Goddamn Vickers...

Isla appeared to be in remarkably good shape. She was holding an ice pack against her head, and hobbling awkwardly with a bad knee. She was slowly getting over the concussion and shock of her long unconsciousness, and her voice slurred slightly.

Her initially good mood at the sight of Marius soon disppeared however, as he explained what happened to Fowler, Gregson and Vickers. In seconds, her fiery, combative demeanour returned. Now Marius felt he needed bodyguards to defend himself from her rage.

"You did what?!" Isla hobbled beside Marius as they made their way to the brig "He saved our goddamn lives and you put him in jail?!"

She had her hands waving furiously above her head. It took all he had not to flinch.

"Marius - you're such a dumbass sometimes."

"But -" He held up his hands in protest "he killed Fowler and Gregson!"

"- who were Terran spies!" she interrupted assertively, so sure of herself despite only hearing the news ten seconds before. And with that, as with any other Isla argument, she gave him a cold, steely gaze, and it was over. Marius didn't dare push it further. He didn't want to risk inviting more of her wrath.

The walk to the jail was slowed considerably by the rush of half-dressed soldiers, officers and other base staff - all chasing down the staircases and grav-lifts. It chilled him. He had never seen so many soldiers running back and forth bordering on panic, carrying whatever possessions they could carry. To Marius, It didn't seem like they had three hours to spare.

The squad were all there when they reached the holding cells. Banks and Nakano stood tensely, looking at the broad, bruised figure sat across the room behind a thin red, shimmering shield. Vickers, his large feet planted widely, stared at the floor as if in another world. His Conglomerate stock armour and weaponry had been stripped from him, and a large pot-belly of the ageing veteran through a bloodied white vest and plain, grey, torn trousers. Marius felt a wave of pity; he looked like a border town drunk.

Isla gasped as she caught sight of him.

"Ryan!" She ran ahead, not even glancing at Banks or Nakano.

Vickers looked up as brightly as if the sun had just passed in front of his window.

"Isla!" His bruised, grizzled face was gleaming. He pushed his knees awkwardly to stand, and hobbled to the edge of the shimmering prison.

"You look gorgeous, babe." He said.

Isla's pushed her hand into the pale red barrier in an attempt to reach him, but she couldn't move the waves of energy more than a centimetre towards the smiling giant.

"What did they do to you?!" she cried.

"Heh," Vickers looked up at Marius as he approached "I got knocked about a little, that's all. I'm sure Acre can tell you about it."

Marius nodded a greeting at Nakano and Banks. All of them felt too awkward to approach the reunited friends. They shifted impatiently from foot to foot as the pair spoke.

"Yep, he told me about it," Isla glanced back at him, "and he also told me that he'd let you out straight away, and we would get out of here ASAP. Isn't that right, Marius?"

She turned to look at him expectantly, her arms folded.

Marius flicked his eyes up to the ceiling. He was dreading this moment. But there was no way of avoiding it now. He looked at the thick hands of the giant, and again, reminded him of the sudden outbursts of rage, the seemingly-random killing of two squad members in front of his very eyes, Harrison telling him that Vickers had been fighting for forty years, and evidently was no longer fit for front line service.

Then he looked at Nakano, Banks. The two remaining people in this world who he could trust. They nodded at him, as if they could read his thoughts. And he looked at Isla, naively protecting this ticking time bomb. And he knew he couldn't risk harm to them. It was the only thing a good, decent leader would do.

"I'm sorry Vickers," He murmured in a monotone voice with all of the authority he could muster "but you will be bound and escorted to the holding cells at the nearest facility, as NC regulations require, where you will face court martial."

Isla stopped laughing, her smiling face turning into a glare. Vickers stared at him blankly. Banks and Nakano seemed to have hands poised over their sidearm holsters.

"That's not funny, Marius." Isla stuttered.

"I'm serious." He said flatly. "These are New Conglomerate regulations. Until Sergeant Vickers has been court martialed, he is to be considered a risk to his unit -"

"You BASTARD!" Isla shouted with a deep roar, her face turning red. Vickers crouched slightly and tensed, as if preparing for a fight. Marius' throat went dry, his worst fears were being realised. He glanced nervously at Banks and Nakano - both of them had a hand hovering close to their hip holsters.

"Corporal Banks," Marius cleared his throat, "Please take the holding binds from the control deck and prepare to enter the cell."

Isla raised two fists to face Marius.

"Don't you DARE you little scrub. Who put you in charge anyway?! I have rank. I'M in charge here. Not you, Corporal. Get the fuck away from here. ALL OF YOU!"

Banks, glancing rapidly between the two sides, stepped haltingly towards the counter on the far wall.

"STOP Banks, don't listen to him!" Isla shouted.

"Acre has rank." He muttered quietly.  
"What?!" Isla said in disbelief.

"I said, Acre has rank." Banks nodded assertively, and continued his task, more confidently now. Isla turned her head to face Nakano.

"You too, Utako?"

Nakano strode to Marius' side.

"Acre has rank." She also said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah Utako, just because you love the guy, we get it. I'll take you on too!"

Nakano's eyes flared with anger. She clenched her fists, the normally quiet and shy engineer seemingly on the verge of bursting into rage. Marius didn't fancy trying to hold those two away from each other.

"Come on! That's right!" Isla continued. "You wanna hit me don't you, huh? A pregnant woman too? That's right! I'm pregnant!" she shouted, a rowdy glint in her eyes and a devilish grin.

That news stopped Marius, Nakano and Banks cold. Marius was speechless. What can you say to that?! They looked to the ground sheepishly. Banks stared hesitantly from a few metres to the side, pulsating binds in his hands. He shrugged slightly in Marius' direction, poised still, as if unsure of what to do next.

"Well..." Marius started.

Suddenly, the lights went black. There was a low rumble, and the ground shook. Marius stumbled, almost losing his footing. The glowing prison shield disappeared. Marius' heart jumped. Vickers was now loose among them.

He heard footsteps and shouting ahead.

"Flashlights!" he cried, and brought up his sidearm. He flicked on the underbarrel torch. Isla was pulling on Vicker's arm.

"STOP!" Marius cried.

"Come on... We can make it... Why won't you go?" Isla sobbed, almost pulling her small form off the floor with each effort.

The backup lighting kicked into action. With the distant struggling of a diesel generator, a dim red glow spluttered into life. Vickers, resignation on his face, hadn't moved a muscle. Isla was pulling uselessly on his elbow, tears in her eyes.

"Don't move, Vickers." Marius' voice shook, silently begging the giant not to make any stupid moves. Marius would shoot to protect Alpha squad, if he had to. 'It's the right thing to do' he repeated to himself in his head, over and over.

Vickers looked at Isla calmly, and with a smooth, zen-like motion, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's OK Isla," He left his crouched combat position, and slowly drew himself to full height "Marius is right. I need to go to court martial, and do this the right way for once."

"But..." Isla floundered, her arms suddenly dropping - her fiery energy seemed to suddenly evaporate. Banks approached slowly with the binds, arms open as if netting a dangerous animal.

"This ain't the time to do something crazy," Vickers continued "let's... calm down, do what they say, and stick together. Everything will be fine, I promise. First things first, we need to get us all to the spawn rooms and get the hell out of here before the TR turn this base to scrambled eggs. I ain't gonna run anywhere."

Marius, Isla and the rest of the squad were open mouthed at his sudden zen-like wisdom. As far as Marius knew, 'calm down' wasn't in Vickers' vocabulary.

Vickers raised his wrists towards Banks and nodded peacefully. Banks cautiously attached the energy binds, as if approaching a sleeping lion. On contact with his wrists, the two metal couplets joined together with solid, purple waves of energy - the same technology that joins the energy shields of the base. Isla slowly turned back to Marius, her eyes red and sorrowful.

"So this is friendship to you, huh?" Isla stared at him with her most delicate, innocent expression that could melt iron. "Sending your friends to court martial? What the hell?! You bastard..." Tears burst from her eyes.

Marius, overcome by guilt, looked down at the floor. There was an awkward silence in the dim, red light of the holding cell.

"Um, just saying, but the generator's still down." Nakano said, seemingly unmoved by the emotional scene "And we won't get out of here until that's fixed."

Isla gave her a stony glare through her tears.

Marius cursed under his breath. In the excitement, he'd forgotten all about the blackout. As if things couldn't get worse - no one was getting out of the base until the power came back.

"OK, we're going to the generator." He said. After a brief pause, he approached Vickers and Isla "I'll..."

Isla stopped Marius with a firm push from her outstretched arm, and grabbed onto Vicker's bicep with her other. "No you won't. I'm walking with him. None of you touch him."

He backed away, hands raised in surrender. Marius was in no mind to get in her way.

#

He led the small procession down the dim, empty corridors of the upper levels of the facility, which were now pulsing with red lights and permeated by the obnoxious buzzing of countless abandoned holo control panels and sensor screens.

Banks and Nakano kept three paces behind Isla and Vickers. None of them ventured too close at the risk of further angering them. Isla's quiet sobs were the only sound that broke the silence.

In the distance, Marius could hear the ominous pops of small explosions; the KAKAKA of rapid fire Terran weaponry and the unusual shears and crackles of plasma weapons. He didn't want to think what was just over the horizon. It took all he could to retain his composure, to follow orders, and not to break completely and run with his squad for the hills. With the generator down, no one would be able to respawn, or redeploy to another base. There was no way to escape the massive Terran, and Vanu assault. It was a disaster, and Alpha squad were in the thick of it once again.

They reached the ground floor, and finally they saw activity. Squads of fully-armoured ARM soldiers were jogging to and fro on the vehicle bay level, picking rifles, grenades and pistols from a line of makeshift boxes that were hastily strewn all over the vehicle pad. Many of the soldiers wore only projectile jacket light armour, many were without helmets, and some were even making do with no armour at all, perspiring through desk shirts that clung to their torsos in the thick summer heat.

Crews of overworked engineers charged back and forth, giving cursory inspections to rusted and aging battle tanks. The crackle of nano welds coarsing through the hollow cavern as the crews made last minute repairs. It was obvious to Marius that from the state of their ramshackle equipment, the Auraxian Resistance Movement weren't at all prepared for a large-scale attack. And the troops seemed to know it. The constant running and nervous comms chatter of the men and women in the vehicle bay gave it a panicked atmosphere.

The generator wasn't hard to find. The mass of New Conglomerate soldiers became more and more dense as Alpha Squad approached the power source, nestled in a basement underneath the south side of the base. A red shield was fluctuating at the bottom, but there was little evidence of the massive smoke plumes that a generator explosion would cause. Marius figured that the generator must have been disabled, not destroyed - work that only an expert hacker could achieve. A lump formed in his throat as he realised that there could be only one culprit. It had to be Gregson. And he was in there, somewhere.

At least thirty soldiers were lined up around the doorway, where thin licks of flame and errant sparks smouldered. They whispered to each other nervously over proximity chat. A few twitched nervous faces towards Marius as he approached. Their eyes widened at the sight of the giant Vickers in chains.

"What happened here?" Marius asked the nearest looking soldier with all the authority he could muster. The young corporal, who was impatiently chewing gum, glanced at Marius with irritation.

"What? Are ya blind?" he snapped, looking at him intently. Marius just managed to stay his tongue. Eventually, the soldier's face softened.

"Ya didn't see it, did ya? Sorry sir, a bit jumpy, we are. The gen went down, of course. Epsilon went in and just got chewed up. Commander's just over there, you can ask her yourself. I gotta keep watch."

He turned back to aim his rifle at the shield without even giving Marius a farewell. He shrugged and turned to look for Harrison.

He spotted her almost immediately, surrounded by her circle of aides. Commander Harrison was pacing back and forth about ten metres away from the generator shield, shouting at a stony-faced lieutenant who was shaking his head. Her hand was glued to her comm plug at her ear, her hair ragged and her composure seemingly frayed. To Marius, she suddenly seemed much older than the middle-aged leader he had known less than an hour earlier.

She glanced at Marius and almost dropped her comm gear mid-sentence.

"ACRE! Good! Get over here." She waved him over, worry creasing her brow.

"I think that's your spy in there, 'Greggs', or whatever..." Her face was wide-eyed, her gaze flicked back and forth over his in a vision of panic.

"He's blocked us out with damned claymores, and he's got at least one hostage... We're spawns down and I've lost comms with the forward units - and my squads are refusing to run in there to die... I mean, I understand, they didn't sign up to die the _real_ death! We need your help. You know him... Is there any way you can... persuade him to stop?!"

Marius almost burst out laughing until slowly he realised... No... She was being serious.

She was obviously losing it. There was no way Gregson would negotiate, after what he had done so far, and after what Vickers had done to him. He had no idea how three remaining able and effective members of Alpha Squad could take on a booby-trapped generator room guarded by an elite Terran infiltrator more than any other NC soldier standing in the room. He would rather Alpha Squad take their chances running across the open fields of Tumas, than face a suicide mission inside that death trap...

Finally, he shook his head.

"I'm - I'm not sure what I can do..." Marius muttered.

Harrison nodded knowingly and closed her eyes, looking to the skies as if in defeat. She paced back and forth. Marius raised a hand uselessly in a lame effort to console the panicking commander. She ignored it, just like she ignored the requests and shouts from those aides all around her.

"Our armoured units are in the passes," she continued "but last I heard, they're getting swarmed. The truth is, we have only thirty minutes before the TR **and** VS reach the base - then we're surrounded. The other ARM bases are not responding - I don't know what to do?! Should we just... Man the turrets and go down fighting? Is it over like this?! All of us... DEAD?! The whole resistance movement up in smoke?!"

Thirty minutes?! Marius swallowed the news with disbelief. And she'd promised them three hours...

Suddenly there were shouts from behind. Marius glanced towards the generator. The NC soldiers were calling to a young private who was trapped behind a line of claymores lining the entrance and beyond. He was suspended from the ceiling, hovering precariously, barely two metres away from the claymore detection radius, by Marius' judgement. Poor bastard, he thought. Like a mouse in a trap, waiting for the cat to bore of his playing, and to be torn to pieces. There was no way into the generator room to save him, let alone any way out.

#

A shadow passed over the despondent scene.

"Excuse me, sir..." Vickers cleared his throat and entered the conversation with a gruff voice.

Harrison looked up at him, seemingly stunned first at his sheer bulk, then at the fact that prisoners could actually talk. Marius looked up too, almost leaping into a combat stance before noticing his bound hands and Banks and Nakano still standing close to his side. Marius glanced at them in irritation at this unwelcome interruption.

"...I know how to get the generator back up. If you'll allow me, sir."

Harrison glanced at Marius disapprovingly, as if offended by the fact that he could allow his prisoner to speak as an equal. His face reddening, Marius tried to control the situation.

Marius cleared his throat "Ideas should come through me first, Sergeant Vickers."

Vickers' eyes flickered in frustration, then he stopped and nodded graciously.

"Yes sir, sorry sir. May I?" he nodded at Harrison.

"This once, Sergeant." Marius continued the face-saving game. Harrison seemed satisfied.

"If there's one thing I know about Enforcers," Vickers continued "it's that there's one thing that can piss them off. I killed him, I beat him, I dishonoured him by killing him in an unequal fight. That's the worst possible crime in the their world. Now, no doubt he'll want revenge. He's probably already been looking for me. He'll want to prove to me - in a fair fight - that he is better than me."

Harrison shook her head sceptically.

"I'm sorry... Sergeant," she said "I don't follow. Are you saying you want to take him on one-on-one? I don't see how that can be a good idea..."

"Listen -" he glanced at her row of badges "Sorry, sir, I have a plan. I shout across the claymores that I'm here to fight him. He'll disable the claymores to let me through. I step across the mines in a heavy suit, shield up, darklight goggles on. I only need a few seconds to rail the place with EMP grenades, knock out his cloak, disable the shield and let in your guys..."

She stared at him for a few seconds, biting her lip.

"OK," she sighed seemingly relieved "well if you know what you're doing, it's better than one of my guys going in there. Graham!" she turned to an aide next to her, sporting a full-faced helmet with translucent blue eye piece "Give this one everything he needs. He's heading in."

The visor-helmeted lieutenant shook his head in disbelief.

"Him, in there? Are you crazy?"

Vickers shrugged, "Well if you've got any better ideas, be my guest!"

Graham hesitated. "Well - no. OK, we got what remaining supplies we have over there." He pointed to a stack of boxes close to the base shield.

Vickers smiled a full, self-satisfied smile. Yep, he's crazy Marius thought. But if he's really willing to do this to help Nakano, Isla and the rest of Alpha out of here, Marius wasn't gonna stop him.

Vickers had already started to lumber over to the unkempt pile of weapons, armour and ammunition. Marius caught up. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the ARM squad trailing them, casual enough, but evidently wanting to be seen. Harrison wasn't taking chances with this crazy, old killer.

"Uh Vickers," he cleared his throat "are you sure you know what you're doing?"

He turned to look down at the young lieutenant and smiled.

"Back in my younger days we used to hunt these bastards. Scouring the bases for infiltrators who were breakin' shit around our pads. I've killed a few dozen of them in my time."

He laughed with a broad grin, but Marius still felt uneasy. He seemed overconfident.

"Anyway, no worries, scrub, I got it covered. Just get me some darklight goggles and a shotgun, and we're home free."

He started to look through the pile of munitions with bound hands, not even complaining about the restraints around his wrists. Marius helped trawl through the pile. Then suddenly, he stopped, pondered something for a second, and looked at Marius.

"There's one thing I need you to do. Take Isla out of here. I want her to be first in that redeploy tube. Keep her safe. Nowhere near this 'Resistance Movement' shit. Got it?"

Marius nodded, he would happily be away from this ARM mess if it meant he could get back his old, routine deployment on the front lines.

"You got it." He said.

He turned back to the generator and beckoned over Nakano and Banks.

"Oh, and kid," Vickers continued "don' just stand there. Get these damn cuffs off me and help me look for some goddamned darklight."

Marius hesitantly approached the giant and disabled the energy binds. Within seconds, Vickers was in amongst the equipment pile, gleefully picking out weaponry and munitions. Marius gave out orders to the others while he searched.

"Guys, I need you to go defend the spawn rooms from the oncoming attack. Hold them off as long as possible. We're staying here help them flush Gregson out."

Isla opened her mouth to protest.

"But-"

"That's an order!" Marius continued, tiring of her complaints. She glanced past him towards Vickers and, perhaps after receiving a signal from him, wordlessly nodded at Marius.

Isla glanced at Vickers, looking wistfully at his unbound hands.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid Ryan."

"I wouldn't dream of it babe," Vickers touched her reassuringly on the shoulder, then on her still flat stomach "I wouldn't dream of missing this little fella! Uncle Ryan I'll be, right?"

"How'd ya know it's a fella?" she flushed, giggling. He smiled broadly, and opened his arms to receive her worried embrace.

Marius looked on at the scene, suddenly saddened.

"Isla, Banks, Nakano." Marius addressed them, with what felt like an unconvincing confident smile. "We'll join you ASAP, just hold the tubes for us as we grab the gen."

"Yes sir!" Banks and Nakano nodded.

The three of them paced carefully between the massing ARM squads who ran back and forth, in the direction of the spawn tubes. Isla walked slowly, peering back at the gentle giant with what appeared to be a mix of fear and sadness, casting a gaunt shadow over her pale face. Soon, only Vickers and Marius were left at the munitions pile.

#

Vickers was decked out in full heavy armour with resist shield. Despite being two sizes two small, he looked impressive with muscles bulging through almost every crevice in the suit. Wielding a Bruiser shotgun, and a rack of EMP grenades, he looked ready to fight the War alone. He paced towards the generator shield.

Vickers noticed his concerned expression.

"Don't sweat it, scrub, I'll be fine." He grinned "Gregson ain't invincible, you know. He's just a man."

Marius followed him down the ramp. He wanted to help out, but how? Vickers seemed certain that Gregson would agree only to face him, and him alone. But still, he felt like such a coward, completely useless.

"Let me come with you." Marius said, his words ahead of his brain.

Vickers turned and shook his head, a broad smile showing through his rough beard.

"Hah! You're a dumbass, and crazy too. Nah, Gregson'll toast you just like anyone else who gets near those claymores. But, there is something you can do. I need you to be my eyes and ears out here..."

He threw a motion sensor and radio over the the young lieutenant.

"...And I'll be back in five. I'm better than him, trust me. Just... take care of Isla and the little 'un, right?"

Marius was rattled by this sudden crack in his confident exterior.

"Hey... you'll do it yourself, Vickers." Marius managed a small smile, wavering with the sudden rush of worry for his friend.

Vickers patted him roughly on the shoulder as he walked down into the maw of the cave.

"You'd make a good CO Maz. Not to be sentimental and shit..." he tailed off "Just grow some balls! A commander gotta sound like he's got a pair, ya know." he laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm going now." He gave a shaky smile; it seemed to take all his strength to maintain it.

"See you in five, Ryan." said Marius, with more hope than certainty.

Vickers turned, and paced with purpose down the ramp, towards the shield, the row upon row of anti-personnel mines, and the hostage that twisted on thick rope hanging from the ceiling. The two rows of ARM soldiers, their rifles still trained on the shield, watched in admiration as the warrior titan marched headlong into the mouth of the dragon's den. They shouted whoops of encouragement. Vickers turned to them all and nodded in acknowledgement, smiling as if it was his victory day.

Marius approached a few metres behind, fired up the motion sensor and hastily checked the calibration. He felt a pang of sadness as Vickers did a final ammo check just centimetres in front of the generator shield. Did he really stand a chance?


	10. Chapter 10 - Face Off

It took all his willpower for Vickers to force himself to smile as he walked past the gawking, frightened squaddies that lined the generator room. But the moment he reached the shield he let his face drop, simultaneously accompanied by his stomach and the rush of nausea.

He'd hadn't done infiltrator hunting in years. But too late to back out now, he sighed to himself. He placed his two strong legs firmly apart a metre away from the shimmering red shield, beyond which a checkerboard of Terran claymores blinked menacingly. Taking a deep breath, he flicked on the darklight goggles.

"GREGSON!" he bellowed as loudly as he could muster. "IT'S VICKERS. I know you're pissed that I'm better than you. How about we sort it out, like men? Just you and me in there. What d'ya say?"

There was no reply. Vicker's voice echoed off the hard steel walls. Only the gently swinging rope holding the gagged private permeated the silence.

Vickers was about the shout again, when suddenly the shield flickered and died. The front row of claymores faded from a dim red, to nothingness. His heart jumped, first with elation at his unexpected success, then with terror. Secretly, he had hoped that Gregson would turn down his offer.

Only the thought of Isla and her baby willed him to take the first tentative step forward. The second row of mines flicked off. Then the third. Vickers swung his head from left to right - he saw no movement through the darklight goggles.

Dim bodies of NC soldiers were curled up on either side of the shield. The remains of Epsilon squad. Repeater pistol casings radiated around the walls of the entrance hall, as well as a couple of C4 blast craters. Victims of a sudden and brutal ambush, Vickers guessed. Outclassed, they had died, truly died. A chill ran down his spine at the thought.

He concentrated on his feet again. Good, he was through. 3-2-1. OK Ryan - GO!

He threw one EMP grenade to the left, the second clattered into the right hand wall.

BOOM!

Vickers staggered as a tsunami of bright blue EMP pulses of light smashed into him from both sides. To his right he spotted the flickering cloak shield of a broad figure de-activate. He aimed, and fired two shotgun blasts at the fleeing form. But it was too fast - a miss.

"He's running away!" came Marius' voice over the static.

Just as planned, Vickers nodded. But he had only a few seconds. He pulled the knife out of its scabbard and jumped. With a swing of the blade, he cut the rope holding the young soldier to the ceiling. As he landed, he grabbed the tied body just as it was beginning to totter backward onto the back row of mines. He just started to drag it towards the protective wall in between the shield and the generator room-

BOOM!

The scene in front of Vickers' eyes erupted in flame and he was thrown backwards. His back hit the wall with a strong thud, and he fell to the ground. He felt like his face was on fire, he patted desperately at singed hair with gloved hands.

No time. Barely to his senses, he tore binding strips off the groggy, young soldier with his knife. The boy, barely an adult with mousy blonde hair, seemed barely conscious, obviously unaware the chaos around him. Vickers slapped his face lightly.

"Hey," he shouted as quietly as he could muster "Hey, scrub!"

The second slap brought the boy to attention. He handed his firearm to the soldier.

"Take this. But don't fucking move, you hear me?"

The weak form nodded, and took the weapon.

Marius buzzed over the comm "Vickers - he's coming back, on your left -"

Vickers barely had time to stand up, switch out his heavy Rebel pistol and aimed it at the edge of the left wall. But the darklight activated a second too late.

A dark figure charged around the corner and opened fire.

CRACK! CRACK!

Bullets smashed into Vickers' helmet and goggles - he was knocked backwards as the pounding pistol blasts filled the hollow air.

"FIGHT FAIR!" came the chilling whisper in his ear as Vickers scrabbled at the broken polymer and glass in front of his eyes. Vickers flailed around to meet the expected killing blow but... Nothing. The footsteps receded.

Gregson had spared him. But, Vickers guessed as he struggled back to his feet, only to kill him in his own way. The Terran agent was only playing, like a predator with cornered prey. Vickers tore off the goggles. His head was stinging and his eyes aching, but luckily the glass from the visor had smashed outwards and not into his eyes, as per the design.

"He back behind the gen, on the right," Marius shouted "now's your chance to take down the shield, you'll have a platoon of NC with you in five seconds."

That scrub, that stupid optimist, Vickers sighed to himself. Wasn't it obvious now that there was never any way of opening that shield? Gregson was way too good to make that mistake.

"You are taking down the shield, right Vickers?" came Marius' wavering voice after a couple of seconds silence.

"I'm pushin' on in there, lieutenant." Even to himself his voice sounded haggard and tired. "Everything A OK."

He turned down the volume of Marius' loud protest. He raised the pistol to eye level, and flicked on the darklight torch.

"Here we go, Ryan," He muttered to himself, terrified for the first time in so long "just a little further."

His heart pounding, he edged closer the the boundary wall. The reassuring hum of the bases' power source sounded behind it. In the silence, it reminded him of his first days as a private - babysitting generators and smoking cigars with the boys back home, in the Cyssor hills... What he'd do to have a cigar right now.

He cracked a grin at the memory. How long ago was that? He had no idea. What about her? How long was that... Sometimes he could barely remember them now.

He shook his head. He needed to stay focused.

"3, 2, 1... Go!"

He swung the pistol around the corner. Nothing appeared beneath the pale green of the darklight torch. He paced carefully as he searched both sides of the pulsating blue generator.

"He's off the monitor!" Marius voice crackled "You hear me Vickers?! Keep -"

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Vickers gasped, and he was propelled forward, almost losing his footing. His back burned from the whip cracks.

He tried desperately to turn.

CRACK!

Another bullet, and the pistol flew through the air. His left hand sprang towards his face, covered in blood. Vickers grasped for his knife with his right, desperately twisting to react to the threat.

A figure morphed into view a few metres ahead. A tall, lean Gregson. All of the excess fat cut out of his sinewy infiltrator suit. The same face, but chiselled, hard, his once doe-eyed brown bear eyes tight and overbearing. He pointed the Repeater pistol at Vickers' face.

"How does it feel to get no chance to fight back, Vickers. To be CHEATED?!"

Vickers staggered backwards, scrabbling on the floor for the pistol.

"DON'T touch that." Gregson shouted "Get out your knife. We used to fight with HONOUR. What happened to this War?! What happened to you, Vickers?"

Vickers pulled out the knife with effort, gritting his teeth at the pain of his throbbing hand and back.

"There ain't nothin' honourable in war, Gregson."

"Hah!" Gregson laughed, his resonating deeply as if his vast beer belly still existed. "Not for you, maybe. Anyway, no time to discuss now. Knife me." Gregson grinned with relish.

Gregson's words washed over him as he searched desperately for a weakness within his knife style. Wide stance - big swings and movement. Vickers countered best as he could remember - he focused on keeping himself tight, elbows and forearm guarding as much of his face and chest as possible.

His opponent lunged, and Vickers blocked the thrust awkwardly. The lean infiltator leapt above him like a ballerina and scythed down through the air. Vickers ducked, but the blade cut through his shoulder blade.

Breath punched from his lungs and he grunted at the sharp pain. He pushed forwards under Gregson's lunge and pulled the knife upwards. He hit clean air as the infiltrator effortlessly skipped away. His bleeding arm sagged, rapidly losing strength. It was clear to see that was no match for this Enforcer.

"Fuck you." Vickers shouted, his rage the only weapon he had left.

But then he thought of Isla and hidden reserves of strength bubbled to the surface. He HAD to win, for her, for the kid. No matter the cost, somehow.

He roared, and again he lunged forward. Gregson skimmed sideways, and slashed Vicker's right arm. He cried out in pain. Behind him now, Gregson plunged the point into his aching back, Vickers bellowed again, his eyes watering as he struggled to face him.

"Fight HARDER Vickers! Come on!" The infiltrator-hunter laughed joyously, evidently enjoying himself.

Vickers started to feel faint as the blood rapidly flowed from him, black specks starting to form in front of his face. In the growing mist, he saw her face. Keira. She was beautiful. And... his son. Where? That shitty old flat? Home. They were real. They had always been real, no matter what Landiss or any ARM bullshit conspiracy told him.

What's that?!

His vision sharpened and he leaned back instinctively as another swipe nicked his nose. He roared, and pushed the outstretched figure into the wall, just metres from the dimly vibrating generator.

In the bright glow he could see the bloodied infiltrator better. Gregon's defined, aged grimace peeled itself off the wall. Vickers backed up, now less than a metre from the blue generator core.

Catching the arm of the Enforcer's next attack, Vickers pulled him in close, accepting the slice along his shoulder to bring his own knife into Gregson's side. The infiltrator whimpered, his face tightening. In an instant, his own knife struck Vickers in between the chest plating and the flexible matt underneath - a perfect strike to the chest.

Vickers felt the life evaporate from him, his vision beating and draining like mottled waves. The vibrating heat of the generator behind him merging with the pulsing flows in his ears. Gregson pulled back for the coup de grace.

"Now, honour is restored."

BANG!

Red hot flechettes spattered on the generator casing next to Vickers' head. Gregson turned, spotted the plucky private who had already raised the shotgun for the second shot.

BANG!

Gregson dodged to the side, somehow avoiding the worst of the shrapnel. He took cover behind a wall.

His breath rasping now, Vickers knew he had just seconds. With shaking hands, he fumbled in his shredded satchel.

CRACK! CRACK!

Gregson returned fire as the private peered around the corner one more time.

"GET OUT!" Vickers blasted his remaining reserves of energy at the stupid boy, his breath ragged.

CRACK!

The private fell from a pistol shot. Vickers roared with anger and despair.

"FUCK YOU, Gregson!"

Gregson turned back to Vickers, his large chest now heaving up and down, scattered, bloody pock marks where shotgun flak had punctured him.

"You can fuck all you like Vickers, I still win."

He paced over to slowly, tortuously draw out the blade in his chest, smiling all that time. Vickers gritted his teeth as his nerves screamed. In raw defiance, he refused to cry out.

"You shoulda... blown the generator, Gregson."

He grinned through bloody teeth. There was no stopping now. This was it - his hand was firmly on the trigger.

"We're both going home."

Vickers pulled up the trigger in front of his face, and gritted his teeth into a ravaged smile. Gregson's visage dropped to ashen terror.

"No -"

He turned to run, his infiltrator's grace dogged by a ragged limp.

Vickers hit the button, and the two C4 bricks glowed red.

BOOM!

The explosion tore through the generator casing, the shockwaves echoed beyond the shields and shook the very spine of Tumas tech plant.

Vickers was home.


	11. Chapter 11 - Tsunami

Marius piled into the generator room, paying little attention to the injured private who staggered past him the other way, or the billows of smoke that filled his vision, brought tears to his eyes, and made him cough and splutter. Close to the roaring sparks and sagging frame of the generator, he could see the scattered wreckage of charred armour and smashed flexi-plastic joints. He fell to his hands and knees as his legs failed him, scrabbling desperately through the ruins for a glimmer of life. There was none. As the realisation slowly set in, he choked up ragged breaths from deep within him, his lungs a torrid mix of shredded emotions and gasping, enveloping smoke.

He plunged himself close to the ground to escape the black mass, tears now streaming from his eyes. And there he saw the glint out of the corner of his eye. The Auraxium-encrusted battle knife, Vickers' pride and joy. He cleared the small debris from around it - it was as clean and shiny as the first day it was made. The proud blue and yellow shone from the handle, a battle cry for a factional loyalty long lost. Marius grasped for it, noting the blood and scrap of infiltrator skin suit attached to the point.

Vickers had fought to the end.

In the flickering blackness, Marius slumped against the wall bordering the generator wreckage. He turned the knife over and over in his hand. "Eternally yours." Gleamed the golden script along the handle - a motto inscribed at the behest of his girlfriend, and which had been the subject of countless ribbing sessions that Marius had witnessed during their 18 months of joint service. He welled up as he remembered Banks, Kirt and Isla mocking the honest giant as he sheepishly defended this deeply personal gift. Despite the taunts, Marius had never seen him without it.

Marius cursed himself. If only he'd listened. If only he'd got them somewhere safe rather than... Plunging them into a selfish quest for glory.

It was all his fault.

He stabbed the diamond-hard knife into the alloy grating between his legs and roared with frustration into the black fog.

In seconds, the room was filled with ARM engineers and medics. The engies began piecing together the generator with the combined floating, stream of blue nanites that emanated from 10 sources. The medics, hunting for revivable casualties among the wreckage, were soon disappointed. Vickers and Gregson had simply evaporated in the intense fusion heat from the generator explosion. Flesh and bone could not survive such punishment. Even Vickers' plasteel composite suit was reduced to blackened scraps. They had died the real death. Just like Landiss, Fowler, Kirt, Michaels and all the others that Marius had failed over the last two days.

A hand appeared out of the darkness above him. For a shuddering half-second, Marius imagined he saw Vickers' heavy suit looming out of the darkness. But it wasn't.

Harrison gave him a cursory glance up and down.

"Are you hurt?"

"No." Marius shook his head. He tried to regain his composure, wiping his face with a soot-covered wrist. It didn't help.

"The infiltrator is dead?" Harrison nodded expectantly. Marius said nothing.

"Good." She replied. She kicked a small ball of fused armour, the sheer disrespect making Marius seeth with rage.

"I'm sorry for your... friend." She looked at him briefly, before inspecting the generator repair work.

Marius stared at her blankly, still steaming silently.

"You'll be pleased to know that the pregnant girl,... Ina, will soon be transferred to our home facility. She will be safe."

Marius nodded with quiet relief. At least his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

"But I need you to do one more thing for me, Marius. The Terrans are pushing hard. We need as many people as we can on the East side. The last of the high command are redeploying as we speak. We just need twenty minutes, and I can get every soldier out there."

Marius wanted to laugh. More?! From Alpha squad?! After what we've been through?! If Isla hadn't been waiting at the spawns right that second, he would have told Harrison to go to hell, and would have got Alpha Squad the hell out of there.

"But," he said "aren't there hordes of them out there? What if we're overrun?"

She nodded confidently.

"Don't worry Marius, our defences are rock solid. We can hold them. Just come join us at the spawns in 20 minutes."

'Rock solid, yeah right' he thought. Marius was seriously starting to doubt her judgement.

She passed him a small comms unit.

"Its the base comms. Just call for support if it gets too hot."

"Yes sir." He saluted grudgingly. As she moved away to inspect the repairs, he pulled Vickers' knife out of the floor, and paced towards the exit. He felt like a prisoner. No choices, no way out. There was no way out but to follow Harrison's orders. The only way he could redeploy his friends out of this mess.

"Banks, Nakano," he sighed wearily into his wrist comm channel "Meet me on the east side, by the vehicle gate. We have new orders. Back to the fight."

[aesop_chapter label="Armour" title="Armour" subtitle="Armour" bgtype="img"]

Dull and distant thuds were increasingly punctuated by the nearby shrieks and explosions of artillery shells.

An ominous black cloud rose above the hills, 200m to the north. The cloud was soon joined by rhythmic rumbles that echoed across the entire valley. Marius' hand trembled as the cannon roars of the titans behind the hill came closer and closer.

As well as Banks and Nakano by his side, Marius was joined by a group of privates and technicians who had been pushed out to front line duty. It was all hands on deck, and these inexperienced cadets looked terrified. As Marius looked over their young faces - some barely out of adolescence, he recalled the terror and uncertainty he himself endured during his first days on the line. And that was **with** available respawns and reinforcements. He'd have his work cut out for him to keep them alive today.

Nakano was 10m away to his left behind the corner of the base wall. Ever calm under the most intense pressure, she shot him a cute smile with her pencil-thin mouth. Ever ready, and never complaining no matter what the task, Banks was ten metres to his right, his head flicking back and forth out of cover. Both of them acted like anchors on the morale of the privates close to them, holding back the couple of the privates that made sudden, jittery movements. Marius could see they were on the edge of fleeing.

Suddenly, the smoke cloud pulled around the corner. There was a frisson of fear and movement through the squad.

Marius peered at the armoured vehicles through the 3.4 x scope of his gauss rifle.

"Hold fire! They're NC!"

It was an NC Vanguard tank. It struggled backwards across the plain, its smoking turret seemingly locked in a frontal facing. A second Vanguard soon roared around the rock at top speed, piling towards its compatriot. After another ten seconds, a third, flaming battle tank coughed and spluttered to a halt just at the corner. Shells pounded the earth behind them.

"Come on, come on!" Marius willed them on under his breath, silently begging for the third tank engine to fire up, terrified of the tragedy that was unfolding before his eyes.

The engine didn't start. After ten or so seconds of nothing, the crew clambered out, the driver pulling the gunner from the smoking hull. They scrambled to the ground, started running away at top speed.

BOOM!

The tank exploded in a flash of light. Flaming plasma flowed through the air, so bright that Marius was forced to look away.

The two hapless crew members ran full pelt to hide behind a rock, casting panicked glances toward the distant tech plant.

"We've got to do something?!" Banks shouted with frustration. The squad nodded to each other in fearful agreement.

Marius considered their options. They could open fire with rifles or RPGs, but at this long range, surely the bullets would coast into the dirt, or simply ping off any armoured vehicle that ventured around the corner.

And they could charge forward. But there was two hundred metres of open field to cross the field not once, but twice, to have even the smallest chance of saving the lives of the crew members. Marius could see that the odds were hopeless.

"Negative, Banks." Marius shook his head "That would be suicide. We have to hold the line."

The first Vanguards barrelled towards the group in reverse, the second smoking furiously, now only 100m away. Banks fired up his jetpack in an attempt to assist the stranded crewmen.

Marius shouted "Banks! Stop! That's an order!"

Suddenly, three black and red Prowler tanks rolled around the side of the rock. Then another three, followed by two Harasser buggies, all flying the flags of the Terran Republic. Shells slammed into the ground surrounding the retreating Vanguards, their crumbling armour battered with explosive pellets and shrapnel.

The two crew members were lost behind the dust cloud of Terran armour, and Marius didn't see their fate. Immediately the base turrets started thudding with a regular beat, their targeting holos automatically picking up on the foreign vehicle signatures. Immediately afterwards came the CHAK-CHAK-CHAK of the base's four anti-air turrets, as swarms of distant Mosquito fighters began their combat approach.

Marius turned back behind the 100m-high steel column to face his ramshackle squad. The rookie squad members recoiled under the barrage of loud cracks and bright explosions.

"HOLD THE LINE!" Marius cried "STAY IN COVER!"

Marius, back behind the column, nodded at the spotty, red-headed cadet cowering behind the barricade with him.

"Get ready." Marius said.

The cadet reached out for the Phoenix NC-75 rocket launcher at their feet, shaking, but her movements measured and methodical. Well trained at least, Marius thought. Way above their head, a Liberator swooped and they heard several loud explosions from the defence deck on top of the base, making them jump.

"Now, hold it steady while I push this round the corner." Marius shouted over another blast "On three; one, two..."

The Terran armour was racing dead ahead in the direction of the spawns, straight towards Alpha Squad's line.

Marius, rocket launcher on his shoulder, tracked a Harasser with his sights.

"50 metres is the mark." He said over squad channel.

The Terran armour brigade roared across the field, viciously confident. Way too overconfident, Marius thought. They hit the red line. The front Harasser swerved, but too late.

BOOM!

Three vehicles barrelled straight into the row of mines. Dirt and smoke blasted in all directions.

"NOW!" Marius cried.

His targeting reticle focused on a Harasser that had slowed to dodge its flaming compatriots.

He fired. He was controlling the missile through the brain-connector - swerving the Phoenix rocket to the left with honed control that matched the desperate acceleration of the Terran vehicle. He was heading straight for the windscreen. He saw the driver's face - terrified scars and golden teeth.

BOOM!

The visor turned to static, and Marius pulled out of the visor to face the field. The Harasser skidded to a crumpled halt.

The Terran armour was turning back. The rookies shouted excitedly, shouting crass insults in the direction of the fleeing, flaming battle platforms. This soon turned to whooping and cheers. Marius, Banks and Nakano were silent. They were battle hardened enough to know that it wasn't yet the time for celebration.

Nevertheless, as the Terran armour halted, and began reversing, his tight lungs relaxed slightly, and he breathed out slowly. The few remaining base turrets still pounded shells and flak at the withdrawing forces, which were soon only just visible through the flickering wall of flame at the edge of the rock formations.

"Great work guys, that should give us a little time," he said. The squad murmured in agreement.

"Harrison's got her twenty minutes, now its her turn to hold up her end of the bargain."

[aesop_chapter label="Loyalists" title="Loyalists" subtitle="Loyalists" bgtype="img"]

Marius switched to command channel.

"Commander, we have turned back the Terran armour on the East side, awaiting direction for evac."

There was a crackled sigh from the other end.

"Lieutenant Acre. Situation changed - repeat, changed. We have multiple NC incomings, assumed hostile. It could be Commander Doran! Loyalists!"

Marius stuttered over his words, his heart starting to pound once more.

"But... Wait... I'm bringing Alpha Squad to the spawns."

There were panicked shouts in the background of the comms, the cracks of gunfire. Marius turned to the south, to see several NC Valkryie gunships closing on the spawn building. The base comm channel started to fill up with shouts of surprise from squad leaders all over the base.

"It's too late Acre!" she shouted "Head to the passageway on the south side of the base. Shit, they're here!"

The sound became muffled as if she was running. The rapid crack of automatic fire sounded sharply. Marius saw the elite loyalist troopers dropping on the spawn room, throwing down grenades and suppressing fire. Marius' heart jumped. Isla could still be in there.

"We're surrounded Acre! Get out! Get out!"

The line went dead. Marius stared in shock as the black-clad loyalists hit the ground 200m to the south, and advanced on the spawn building. They pounded it with grenades and automatic fire. Groans and cries of despair came from the young troopers in Alpha as they watched the carnage. Marius didn't despair. He was angry. The loyalists must know that we're de-spawned here. Yet, no mercy. They want to kill everyone. And Isla was in there.

It made Marius angry. Very angry.

"Alpha, we're going to the spawns." He looked around the line of terrified privates, and the calm, collected Nakano and Banks. " Those loyalist bastards aren't gonna get away with this so easy. Who's with me?"

Behind him, the battle at the spawns building raged on, with fierce resistance from inside temporarily pushing the attackers back. One by one, Alpha squad nodded at Marius.

"OK then, good." They were fearless to the end, he thought. His heart swelled with pride. "Let's go."

He began to run. Not a controlled jog that would enable him to use his rifle, but an insane charge at full pelt across the open plain, despite the nagging pain from his injured leg. The team wordlessly followed. They had only a few seconds left to get the drop on the intruders. Marius watched in horror as the loyalists made short work of the surprised ARM defenders. Several escaping figures, tried to scatter into the fields away from the spawn building, but they were cut down from behind by the drifting light assault troopers and bursts of rifle fire. He desperately wanted to help them. Just a little further now...

Fifty metres away from the spawn building, the NC loyalist troops - clearly distinguishable now in blue armour pads over black armour - were still oblivious to Alpha Squad. Marius thrust up his left palm to indicate an immediate halt, then he stared down the sights of his gauss rifle at a loyalist trooper who was taking cover at the corner of the building. He pulled the trigger.

DAK DAK DAK!

Following his lead, eight of Alpha squad's automatic rifles sounded simultaneously, and three bodies fell to the ground around the spawn rooms. Marius nodded towards Nakano and Banks, and all three led their fire team forward, under sporadic fire from the remaining loyalists who now controlled the spawn room. Marius charged towards the open spawn door, and Alpha squad followed at top speed.

TAK TAK TAK!

One of the young privates to Marius's right fell to the ground. Gritting his teeth, he knew that they couldn't afford to stop.

"FLASHBANG!" he shouted breathlessly down into the squad comms. Banks launched himself into the air ahead, pulled the pin on his grenade and threw it. As Alpha Squad made the last ten metres, the projective sailed into the room and exploded.

CRACK!

"Get in there!" Marius cried.

Wordlessly, Bank's fire team flew over the top of the building, while Nakano and Marius took on the front entrance - two soldiers hanging back two metres to cover, two angle their weapons across the edge of the doors to take down any obvious targets. Marius charged in first, blasting at three blinded NC troopers without even having time to think. The adrenaline coursing through his veins, he was still running when he almost collided with Banks coming the other way.

"CLEAR!" Banks shouted, dodging Marius with a deft sidestep.

Marius halted, exhaled, and held himself up against the blackened walls with a shaking hand.

[aesop_chapter label="Spawns" title="Spawns" subtitle="Spawns" bgtype="img"]

He surveyed the scene, and caught his breath in horror. It had indeed been a massacre. The loyalists had assaulted the building from both sides, grenades first. Piles of ARM servicemen and women had been smashed against the walls, their bodies crumpled and broken, due to the sheer force of the frag projectiles. A few survivors moaned in the smoky silence.

"ISLA?" Marius called out. He waved to Alpha Squad to fan out through the survivors, searching for those who could still be saved. A young private immediately set to work with his stim packs and nanite reconstruction med-kit.

"HERE!" Nakano called out, and Marius felt a wave of relief as she pulled up the woman from behind a largely-intact steel table, her hair singed and blackened, her face bruised and cut.

"I'm having a bad day." She moaned.

"Acre!" Came a rasping voice from close to the spawn rooms. Marius looked desperately around the charred corpses that lay around his feet, holding back his nausea. Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto his trouser leg. He cried out in surprise. Then he recognised the bloodied face. It was Harrison. In shock, he knelt down towards her to help.

"Acre." She gasped again "The spawns were sa-sabotaged. They blew us to hell..." she glanced downwards at her twisted legs. "I don't know if anyone got out. ARM is destroyed. Oh fuck it. Fuck it..." she sobbed.

Marius grasped firmly onto her hand, overcome by emotion.

"We're still fighting, sir. We'll carry you out of here. You said there was a way out, right?"

She shook her head weakly.

"The passage? Forget it. It's too late, Marius, the base is lost. We need to blow it. I've got the thing here..." Her hand moved weakly. "Around my neck, could you get it for me?"

Marius shook his head. The shouts and cries of panicked ARM soldiers over his earpiece told him that he couldn't think of blowing the base with so many of their people remaining within.

"No way sir, we're getting everyone out together." Before Harrison could protest, Marius stood and looked around his squad.

"ALPHA! Listen up - you get everyone still alive in here patched up best you can, then we head inside the base to continue the evacuation? You hear me?"

"Sir - I'm almost out of nanites..." exclaimed a young medic.

"You just keep them alive private, we'll have them at the base central med station in no time."

For a second, he almost convinced himself it would be possible to get away from here. Almost.

#

Alpha squad barely spent two minutes on patching up the wounded, until the thuds from the incoming shellfire became too much to bear. The Terran armour were beginning their second thrust on the base.

"We're out of time. Get in the base, Alpha, fast as you can now."

Supporting the injured and shocked victims, there was barely a free arm left in Alpha squad. Luckily, there was only 100m to the main base, and working together, Alpha squad could hobble the short distance with all of the survivors.

As Alpha squad approached the protective overhang that surrounded the vehicle base shield, the final roof AA turret shattered in a cloud of smoke, and loyalist NC Galaxy dropships began to drop their troops onto the top of the base. Vanu, and the rejuvenated Terran armour pushed onto the plain on either side of the base once more to annihilate the final smoking Vanguards of the ARM armoured brigade.

Reaching the Tech plant vehicle hangar as the shells and laser fire roared past, Marius saw only a few terrified, walking NC wounded scattered across the plain and hordes of enemies approaching from all sides.

In a few seconds, the base, and Alpha squad would be completely surrounded.


	12. Chapter 12 - Control Room (last chapter)

The hard cracks of gauss rifle rounds sounded close to Marius' head.

No time to look for where it came from. They scrambled for the eastern vehicle gate, 20 metres away now, just as NC loyalist Galaxy dropships and Valkryie light carriers started to drone overhead.

"This is Lieutenant Marius Acre of Alpha Squad," He shouted over local comms "Any ARM survivors, we're coming in the east gate. Rendezvous at the south passageway in the next two minutes."

He heard only static.

Suddenly, whizzes shot passed his ears and puffs of dirt slammed out of the ground as loyalist NC special forces troopers opened up from the roof of the base. Next to Marius, the red-haired conscript stumbled to the ground, and in her panic, slipped back into the mud.

Machine gun fire spattered into the dry grass around his feet. He looked up. The vehicle bay shield shimmered just 10 metres away. Marius stopped, and extended his hand to help her up, supporting Harrison with his other arm, as the rest of the squad piled into the base as fast as they could possibly move.

Looking back to the North, the Terran armour was re-emerging from their fall-back position at the edge of the field. The rumble of Galaxy dropships and Valkryie light carriers droned overhead. Their payload of special forces commandoes would be clearing room by room, and winding their way down the upper floors right at that moment, and would probably hit the grav lifts within a couple of minutes. To the south, a second group of loyalist NC commandos had once again dropped on the spawn rooms, and, finding it empty, turned their weapons on Marius and his fleeing squad.

"Come on, get in!" He said, for a second leaving Harrison, who was trembling and barely able to stand. Nakano was there in a second to help support her.

The girl glanced up at Marius thankfully, her terrified face covered in tears and soot.

With gauss rounds pinging off its shimmering surface, Alpha squad broke through the shield. On the other side, a few skittish NC guards waited with weapons raised, chewing gum or tapping their weapons.

"HALT OR WE SHOOT!" came the harsh, drill sergeant shout.

Alpha squad froze. Four figures stood ahead, weapons raised. At the sight of Harrison and someone with a semblance of authority, they suddenly changed their tone.

"Commander? Oh, sorry sir!" the Sergeant said in a thick Hossianian drawl.

"MEDIC!" he cried.

They reached the line of guardsmen, and Harrison almost collapsed into the waiting arms of the base medic, who already had a med-kit prepped and open. Marius could see it wasn't looking good for her. She seemed to get weaker with each step, and will all essential supplies sent to the front line, there wasn't enough medical gear to fully heal anyone.

"Lieutenant Acre." He nodded at a grey-haired sergeant, who was tall and broad chested, with a chiselled chin and, oddly, an eye-patch.

"Sergeant Darius." The grizzled squad-leader nodded back.

"How many of you are there?" Marius asked.

"Four's all that's left." The sergeant drawled grimly, in a deep Hossonian swamp accent.

"Good," Marius replied flatly, vaguely aware that there was hardly anything good in that fact "your guard duty is over - we're leaving with anyone left alive. Can you lead us to the passageway?"

"Of course sir," Darius nodded at him, evidently relieved.

He motioned to his men, who followed noiselessly. He quietly made a call over his wrist comms, and within 30 seconds the squad had grown to a mini-platoon of 15 survivors.

#

There were shouts to the south side of the bay. Alpha squad raised their rifles to face the footsteps. They were unarmed - a pair of ARM technicians, probably refugees from the roof turret batteries.

"They're coming down the grav lifts - we need reinforcements!"

Shit. Too late.

"OK," he signalled frantically at the squad "we're heading that way, before they can group up. It's our only way out. Keep your 'nades ready and weapons locked."

He had no idea how many loyalist commandos were already in the vehicle bay, but he knew they had no choice but to advance, and hope there weren't too many loyalists to break through to get to the passage.

He led the ramshackle platoon in between the remains of abandoned, inoperable trucks and tanks. The group dodged in and out of cover, anticipating incoming fire at any moment. Suddenly, Marius heard the sound he had been dreading. They were here.

"CONTACT!"

The bullets came thick and fast. To Marius' side, one of the NC guardsmen was hit at least five times, spraying blood into the air and punching him into the steel grating below.

"COVER!" Marius cried.

Gauss rounds thudded noisily into the barriers and walls surrounding the squad. Alpha squad cowered behind whatever makeshift barrier they could find.

Marius took cover with Harrison behind a steel column. Alpha squad returned fire as best they could, but the co-ordination and elite professionalism of the loyalist assault troopers soon had them pinned down.

And then, thirty metres further behind the oncoming loyalist paratroopers, just next to where the passageway exited, Marius could see another squad of loyalists piling out of the grav lifts and joining the fight. This was surely just the beginning; more and more loyalists floated down every second. Alpha platoon would be outnumbered, outflanked and overrun within seconds.

"Anyone got a plan B?!" He looked at Banks and Nakano in desperation, both taking pot shots from behind a second column. They shrugged in between bursts. Neither of them had any suggestions.

He shook his head in disbelief. Then there was nothing to do but wait to be cut down, or surrender.

Harrison shouted something as loud as she could with a weak, groggy voice. Marius knelt down, bringing his head closer to hers.

"C-command point. Go there, now."

Well, it was better than nothing... Marius sighed to himself.

He looked behind him. The stairs to the control room were just a few metres behind.

#

"LISTEN UP!" he shouted into the squad channel over the pounding tumult of heavy assault rifles "**On three,** light up grenade you have, then go for the stairs. Don't stop until you reach the point!"

A chorus of affirmatives filled the air.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

A dozen flashing red lights sailed through the air.

"OH SHIT!" came a chorus of shouts from twenty metres down the corridor, then Marius charged up the stairs with the squad. A barrage of explosions sent shrapnel and smoke flying through the bay, pieces of cabling and light metal supports collapsing. The 14 remaining ARM troopers stumbled past the head-height defensive barriers, then came to a breathless halt at the central control console.

Turning, weapons raised to face the stairwell, Alpha squad held their breath for a couple of seconds. There was no pursuit. The squad, relieved, leaned against the nearest support they could find, coming down from the rush of adrenaline.

"Well shit!" Sergeant Darius cried out "They got Phil. DAMMIT!" he wheeled, to face Marius and Harrison, evidently enraged.

"So what now, huh?!" Sergeant Darius growled, throwing up his hands "So now we die here? Great plan." he checked his rifle and looked around the three huge troopers remaining in his guard, then expectantly at Commander Harrison, who rested her shaking arms on a ledge next to the command point.

Harrison sighed, supported by Marius and the medic.

"That was my idea, Sergeant," she coughed.

The sergeant looked on coldly as Harrison continued.

"I'll call Doran using the base comms, and end this. No one else has to die. I'm his target. He wants me."

"Sir," Nakano said, who was already checking the command point comms centre. "I don't think that's possible - base comms to outside have been cut - hacked I think."

"Ah well, screw it then," Sergeant Darius broke the awkward silence and spat on the floor "at least we'll go down fightin'. Can't stand those loyalist fuckers."

Marius looked around the four young privates remaining in his squad. They held faces of complete resignation, tears in their eyes. He felt deep sorrow for these teenagers. He didn't want to let them down.

"There's no other way out from here?" he said "I mean, we're completely surrounded?"

Harrison shrugged weakly. The rustle and clatter of squads of elite loyalist soldiers approached more closely. They must be surrounding the staircases below the command point by now, Marius thought.

"I'm out of ideas, Acre." A pained look of resignation filled her face.

"What about internal base comms?" Marius continued, hoping against hope "Surely they didn't block them? We could call every ARM hand left - one last try at breaking through the to the passage before it's too late?"

Harrison shook her head.

"We'd be fragged before we made it out of the bay. Did you see how many - "

"Wait!" burst out Nakano, almost immediately lowering her head respectfully as she remembered who she was talking to.

"Sorry, I mean, sir. I have an idea. We can't break the comms lock, but we can fake it. Little engineer college trick. just give me one minute to hook up the relay, then we'll put you on base-wide camera calling for reinforcements."

"Hah, so you make 'em surrender with bad acting?" Banks laughed heartily. His enthusiasm, as usual, was at odds with the atmosphere of the room.

Ignoring him, Nakano was already getting to work on the command console back panel.

"It'll seem like you're on the continent-wide channel." She continued "Say we're under attack by rogue NC. It's a bluff, but maybe you'll surprise the troopers down there just long enough to stop them blasting us. We only need two minutes to reach the passage after all, right?"

"Clever. Clever indeed." Harrison smiled weakly.

The echoes of noisy preparations and commands from loyalist squad leaders now echoed from the metal walls all around Alpha squad.

Marius tapped the side of his rifle impatiently. Harrison's head started lolling, her eyelids flicking open and shut. She was losing blood quickly.

"How long, Naka?" Marius asked nervously.

Nakano was struggling to remove a set of light nodes in the outer cortex, holding a tool in her mouth.

"Two minutes - just shut up and let me work!"

Marius gripped the handle of his gauss rifle more tightly in frustration, unable to do anything but wait. He turned his attention to source of the noise of the gathering horde of special forces troopers, less than 50 metres from where he stood.

"Acre." Harrison almost whispered in front of him. Marius moved closer to hear her ragged voice. The colour had drained from her face, she was very pale.

"Yes sir?"

She was almost laughing. "It's Hydoran."

"What? Sorry sir?" Marius said. He suspected she was going delirious.

"It's Hydoran. The island off North Indar. We have them by the balls, Acre. Thank Landiss..." her head started lolling more severely, and Marius held up her face with his blackened, pockmarked hand.

"I don't understand," he said "what's on Hydoran?"

"The Generals. Their little pleasure island." Her grin widened into a bloody smile. "They live next to their own damned respawn bank. And they won't connect it to the networks for fear that one virus would be their eternal death. Paranoid bastards. Landiss gave us everything in that chip - access codes, locations..."

"What does that mean?" he asked, feeling stupid.

"It means," she was grimacing, Marius wasn't sure if with pain or frustration "if you get to Hydoran and take out the Generals, and the respawn bank, their entire scheme is kapuut..."

She smiled, "that's why they killed Landiss now. That's why they're here for me today."

The sound of boots and commands could be heard clearly just 30 metres away. The loyalists were evidently making final preparations for a breach. Marius looked around nervously as Nakano struggled to connect the final few wires, mumbling quietly to herself.

"So, what can we do, sir?"

"I've been shot in the goddamn stomach. It hurts like hell and I'm slowing your down. Let them take me. They only want me. Anyway, fuck eternal life. I've had a good run - 143 years old. I'll go out with a bang, eh?"

Marius shook his head vigorously.

"But sir, I won't leave you to die - you'll come with us."

"Shut up," she grinned wistfully "it's not a request, it's an order. You're the highest ranking ARM soldier on base, Acre. You're all that's left of ARM for all I know. I'm giving you access to the ARM mainframe, whatever's left of it after this clusterfuck. Just do two things for me." She coughed.

"Anything." Marius said, astounded by her words that he was driven speechless for anything but brainless assent.

"They didn't beat us yet. Find who's left of ARM and bring them together. And take down those fucking Generals. Starting today." She handed him a small, red trigger capsule holding two ancient-looking keys.

"It'll detonate five tonnes of good old TNT, plastered all over the base. Kill Doran and send them a message. ARM isn't dead."

He took the detonator with a shaking hand "What about you?"

Marius shuddered at the thought of her capture, of direct-brain interrogation techniques.

"I'll be fine, Acre." She smiled "I'm almost gone anyway. You'll make a fine commander, Acre, one day. Now get out of here."

Her head sagged, then she suddenly looked up again, as if it was the first time she'd noticed Marius' presence.

"Still here Acre? Get to work."

Marius looked down for a second, he realised that Harrison would not be persuaded. Despite barely knowing her, a deep feeling of loss welled up in his stomach for this commander.

"It's been a pleasure, sir."

She nodded weakly, but said nothing.

"Done!" Nakano cried "You'll have about 2 minutes before the operators work out what's going on. Live in three, two, one."

Marius barely had time to push up Harrison's ailing face before the command console screen turned to CCTV cameras from inside the base, just below where they stood. Marius made out at least thirty NC loyalist troopers, preparing for breach below them. On the centre screen, Harrison seemed to have found a second wave of energy. Her tired, bloodied face radiated impressive calm and strength.

She turned to Marius, and shooed him away with a weak hand motion. Time to start running. He turned to Alpha squad, and the small group of stragglers.

"Let's go!" he waved them on.

Suddenly, a crackling, weak, voice echoed over the loud speakers in the vehicle bay.

"New Conglomerate brothers and sisters..." Harrison's face hovered overhead in the vehicle bay, wrinkled and covered in bloody, sooty specks. However, her face retained calm, steady composure of an experienced commander.

"...As you can see from our defensive cameras, we are being attacked by traitorous provocateurs of unknown origin..."

Marius reached the stairs, and started clattering down, a few steps in front of his squad. Just in case the bullets came for him first, Alpha squad would have have a second to react. All he could do now, was pray.

"HALT!"

Six black silhouettes loomed out of the shadows below the stairs. He stopped, closed his eyes and held his breath.

"DON'T SHOOT!" came the cry from below. "HALT RIGHT THERE!"

Marius opened his eyes, his heart pounding almost out of his chest. Shaking, he ignored the command, and continued his light-headed walk down the steps, rifle shouldered.

"I said, HALT!" A sergeant in black merged out of the crowd, weapons raised with intent. But Marius could see his gaze nervously flickering up to the base cameras, that were right now being broadcast across the continent. Marius knew he couldn't risk exposing the continental networks to live footage of NC vs NC friendly fire. The sergeant lowered his weapon.

Harrison continued "...Some intruders are wearing New Conglomerate uniforms, alongside Vanu and Terran forces. We are surrounded in the centre of the base, and we desperately need reinforcements, now! Forward battle reports indicate -."

Marius was almost at the bottom. A gauntlet of heavily-armed infantry lined the vehicle bay stairs on both sides, weapons lowering, returning to some sort of guard position.

"Get up the stairs and stop her. No weapons. Don't hurt her on camera." The sergeant shouted to his squad, staring hatefully at Marius and the rest of his prey. So close, yet so far.

Marius bit his tongue as the NC loyalists shoved past them. It would take them less than a minute to reach Harrison.

The dark-clad NC loyalists jeered and taunted the squad as they ran past. They had disabled the shield generators, and so now the vehicle bay was exposed to the open air, with Vanu assault tanks approaching from a couple hundred metres away.

"Rat bastards." Shouted one of the loyalists, blood flecked on his face.

"Traitors!" Shouted a second.

Suddenly, on the overhanging holo screen, Harrison's vision flicked left, and a bitter smile alighted on her weary face.

"Fuck you, Doran!"

BOOM!

And explosion went off on the command point level, making both Alpha squad and the loyalist gauntlet duck. Small, burning embers showered the crowds. Marius covered his head in expectation of imminent fire, but there was none.

"The goddamned screens are still on. TURN 'EM OFF!" cried the enraged loyalist Sergeant.

Alpha squad marched as fast as they could past the roaring, outraged loyalists, heading for the set of crates at the far end of the bay that disguised the passageway.

"Let's just top 'em!" shouted one.

ZZYOOOM!

Suddenly, a plasma shot rang out, and the shouting soldier fell to the ground, a burning, gaping hole where his chest used to be. The loyalist squad half turned in shock, as another laser beam sparked past Marius, just one metre in front of his face.

ZZYOOOM!

The loyalist squad leapt for cover from the new threat, their weapons now split between Alpha squad and the Vanu battalion outside.

"What the hell?!" the loyalist commander shouted. He waved his hands in the direction of the Vanu.

"CEASE FIRE!"

ZYYOOOM! ZAM!

Suddenly the air was filled with the fizz of plasma bolts that echoed from a score of Magriders, now just one hundred metres from the base itself. Marius saw the opportunity.

"RUN!" Marius cried, and Alpha started charging full speed, down the hall, the loyalist soldiers now returning fire at the Vanu assault force. What the hell is going on?! They must think the loyalists are fighting with us! Marius thought joyfully. But he had no time to sit on this happy realisation.

Sergeant Darius stopped at a wall.

"There it is!" Sergeant Darius cried, "cover me."

Behind a couple of light crates, Darius and his guardsmen found an oddly-fitted grate , fixed into the wall at a 45 degree angle.

The screens all around, until now focused on the loyalist troops in the vehicle bay and Harrison's face, turned to static. Alpha squad also turned, cramming themselves behind the small barricades that surrounded the grate. Sergeant Darius and his two tall guardsmen immediately set about opening the door to the passageway, tapping furiously at key codes. The loyalist troops were half firing at them, half shooting out of the vehicle bay doors to try and hold back the joint Vanu armour advance.

"Concentrate fire, closest on the left." Marius called out, and the squad of rough and ready conscripts fired at the two closest loyalists, forcing them into cover.

"It's ready, get in!" the Sergeant shouted.

Marius pushed the conscripts in first, with himself, Nakano and Banks holding the back line as the gauss shot rained in.

"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" came one shout from the commander. "FORGET THE VANU, STOP THE TRAITORS!"

Several loyalists charged, weapons raised and firing full-auto at the three. Banks was hit twice and fell. Marius grabbed him, and dragged him into the passage with Nakano's help. Sergeant Darius launched a grenade from his rifle that exploded less then two metres away from the loyalist attackers. They scattered, and Marius took out one more from the side with a targeted burst.

Marius looked at Nakano. "On three, we turn and go in together."

She nodded, smiling. She clasped his hand tightly. Her matted hair clung to her sweating, blackened face. Marius found her beautiful.

"One, two, three!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off her.

With the explosions of laser, plasma and gauss rifles shaking the ground and ricocheting off the panels behind them, they ran for the open grate, stumbling through and tripping over the few short steps that led into a narrow tunnel. They fell onto a mass of bodies below, all waited nervously for them to get the hell out.

Marius was helped up by a short private. He turned to Banks, who was already being attended to by a rookie medic.

"Don't worry." Banks grunted, one thumb up to the sky. "Just a flesh wound..."

Marius nodded, and turned back to the grate. The Sergeant was re-affixing the barrier to the outside as fast as he could, even as gauss rounds bounced off the other side.

"This won't hold it, Lieutenant." The Sergeant muttered "We'll put an AP mine on it, make them think twice, but they'll blow it within minutes, I guarantee it."

"Can we block the tunnel?"

He nodded.

"Couple pounds of C4 should do the job."

"Then let's do it. Nobody else will need it." Marius said.

Two minutes later, with the charges set, Alpha squad stumbled as fast as they could down the corridor and out of the blast radius. The walls shook roughly, a fireball warmed his face from 50 metres away, and the metal struts holding up the tunnel seemed to waver and bend. But they held.

Marius looked back over his shoulder countless times. But there was no pursuit.

He sighed with relief. One step closer to safety.

#

The squad stumbled through the mud of the dilapidated tunnel for what seemed like an age. Behind them, the deep, shaking rumbles of shellfire quieted; soon all that could be heard was the clang of hurried footsteps over the steel grating, and the heavy breathing and shocked sobs of young privates who clung close to their more experienced comrades.

There was still no sign of pursuit.

After at least a kilometre, the tunnel curved to the left. Marius finally spotted a tiny light in the distance, no more than a few hundred metres away at most. Whispered shouts of joy reverberated along the line, but Marius was terrified to think of what lay on the other side.

The tired soldiers reached the exit. It took three of them - pushing with all their might - to dislodge the barrier. Weapons raised, they silently scattered into the open air. And finally, they began to breathe again. There was no one to be seen. The coast was clear.

Immediately, Marius had the squad filtering up through the forested hill into deeper cover. As they climbed, the sight of the smoking base flickered through the trees. From what they could see, all vehicles and aircraft were tightly packed around Tumas tech plant. The Terran, Vanu and New Conglomerate of the loyalist Generals were evidently far too busy picking through the spoils of the conquered base to pay any attention to the hillsides.

#

They reached a small clearing next to a rocky outcrop about two-thirds of the way up the hill. Almost a kilometre to the west, and two hundred metres below, Marius could clearly see the clusters of red, blue and purple circling the base in armoured columns, while squadrons of fighters and gunships did likewise above their heads.

He peered at the base through his rifle scope, and suddenly gasped. On the side of the base facing the mountain, there was a face. Squinting to get a good look, he suddenly recoiled in horror, stumbled backwards, and almost turned to run. It was his own face - the mugshot of Marius Acre from his first day at the Corps - a 100m-tall face staring blankly on the eastern wall.

'Why? Why?!' filled his head for a few panicked seconds. But soon it became obvious. The loyalist forces had seen him leading the survivors away from the base. To the generals, he would be considered the leader of ARM now. He was the hunted.

Gathering his senses again, he looked back, and a brilliant golden glint caught his eye. Peering at the bustling air pads on top of the base, a blue and gold Valkyrie gunship sat clearly gleaming amongst the drab, worn colours of the surrounding fighters. Marius recognised it in an instant. It was Commander Doran's personal aircraft. The man who had caused this whole fucking mess. The death of his comrades, the reason why his life had been so violently turned upside-down. His fists clenched in shaking rage.

Suddenly, he remembered what Harrison had told him. The base was rigged to blow. He pulled out the trigger she had given him and gleefully studied the small device. He inserted the two keys, and his hand hovered over them. With this tiny plastic black and red device, smaller than a comm pad, Marius could blow the whole base sky-high. Seeing those animals swarm over his fallen comrades below, seeing his own face mocking him across black plasteel plating, he relished the opportunity, he wished for their destruction. His thumb hovering over the button, the adrenaline and excitement coursed through him. He approached the edge of the large rock and stared down at those wheeling, vicious monsters.

Nakano walked up on his right, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her light touch made Marius shiver. He turned to look at her smooth face, still graceful and seemingly unblemished despite the spots of dirt and blood.

"Do it." Her face bore no hint of emotion "Blow them to hell."

He grinned savagely, nodded, and looked back over the plain. He imagined the flash, the plasma charges firing and expanding at 10,000 degrees - the flame spouting out of every entryway, the tumble of the northern turrets onto the main body of the building, the inevitable and ground-shaking collapse to the very foundations, and the satisfying sight of the reams and plumes of smokes charging into the sky, visible for miles around.

His thumb quivered on the key.

Then he thought of the carnage within. Hundreds of souls would be vaporised in a millisecond, yes. But hundreds more survivors would end up crawling through the corridors of sharp, melting wreckage. Crying out in pain and fear, until their wracked, broken bodies succumb to the inevitable, or the terrified medics patch their wounds up just long enough to get them to a med bay. All that, only to respawn into the nightmare once again two hours later, their bodies and minds shaken, but pressed into service for their faction. Marius felt his heart race as he recalled similar, horrifying experiences from his own service. Seven times.

He looked back at the base swarming with enemy soldiers. They were all victims of the generals, just like him. Thousands, millions of troopers across Auraxis expose to the generals' deceit, fighting, suffering and dying for a were groups of brave men and women, just like his own squad. In each group, the same friends, the same laughs, the same cries. All pawns to be sacrificed at the behest of corrupt, deceitful leaders. They don't deserve to be punished. It was the generals who should have their day.

He vowed not to let Lieutenant Landiss or Commander Harrison down. But to destroy hundreds of lives like this... To continue the cycle of savage ultra-violence against those who know no better... He just couldn't. He would die fighting the Generals and their plans if needs be. Just not today, not like this.

He looked again at the trigger, and felt both sick and repulsed by his earlier excitement. He raised the trigger, and hurled it off the edge of the rock. He didn't see or hear it clatter down the slope, or smash into dozens of plastic shards. He didn't care.

He turned to face Nakano, who had her hands on her hips, staring at him sternly. Banks approached across the rocks.

"What the hell was that?!" Nakano said.

Marius shook his head, suddenly feeling drained.

"So, what the hell do we do now, Marius?!" she continued, seemingly astounded by his actions.

He found himself tongue-tied. He really had no plan. Lead his squad to further death and suicide against an army of Generals in a 'fair fight'?

Marius looked back at the squad - Nakano, Banks, Isla, and thought back to the terrible losses that they had all suffered these past few days. Kurt, Fowler, Gregson, curse his name,Vickers, Landiss... All of them had died - really, truly died. The feeling of deep loss struck him suddenly; they would never, ever come back.

Vickers always said that war was about keeping your friends safe, getting them home. And now, looking at Isla, Marius realised what he meant. Still weak, she held herself up against a tree with one hand, and clutched at her stomach with the other. Whatever lies they had been told before, this - her baby - was real.

Marius let that sink in. He had never seen an infant before. At least, he didn't remember if he had. Memories probably destroyed by the generals, he sighed. Whatever the truth, the thought of this real child gave him a tantalising glimpse at some sort of hope. Marius saw life. And instinctively he knew, somehow, that this one life was worth more than whatever the Factions had tussled over for more than fifty years.

Vickers died to defend that, and he had died a hero. What an example to follow. Marius would try his utmost to continue his work; he would strain and fight with all he had to protect this vulnerable, innocent child to be and its delicate mother. But not just for them. He looked around at Banks, Nakano, the young private, even Sergeant Darius and his sturdy guardsmen. All of them, these loyal friends, deserved a chance at life too, something beyond this war.

But then, what could they do? For now, all they could do was run to the hills and hide. Would they spend the rest of their existence pursued across the mountains of Amerish by the generals' forces, cowering in caves day and night.

He shook his head. No, he couldn't allow that. He needed to do something more. Only by stopping the Generals, and whoever else was pursuing them, could Marius ensure his friends would be safe.

"So?" Nakano was still staring at him sternly with arms crossed.

Marius knew what he needed to do.

"We get Isla and the rest of you somewhere safe, Naka. then I go to fight the Generals. Not before."

She scowled for a second, still sceptical, then her face lightened.

"Then after, when we fight, you promise we'll kill them all?"

She looked at him with an icy smile. She took his hand. Her eyes were so dark, darker than Marius had ever realised.

"I'll take them all down Naka. I promise."

She sighed slightly, contentedly, turned to face the plain, and lay her head on his shoulder.

"It's we, Marius. Us. Together."

Marius' heart slowed, time calmed and stopped in the weak sun and Naka's cold hand.

"Sir?" came Banks' cheerful voice, shattering this gentle moment.

He stopped at Marius' side. He supported Isla around the shoulders, who shivered quietly in the early evening cool and the residual shock from the battle.

"West Pass Watchtower is about 35 clicks up that-away. We'll be crossing enemy territory of course, but it's our best bet."

Marius nodded "I hope Vickers was right to trust them. Let's go."

Nobody said anything more. Feeling safe for the first time in days, the four friends paused to watch the blood-red sun set on the Western hillside.

When night fell, they began the long walk home.


End file.
